A Global Feast Partnership

By Paula Bell, Utah Hemophilia Foundation

Scott Muir, Director of the UHF gives a presentation

Hosting a Global Feast dinner is an excellent opportunity for member organizations and foundations to raise funds and awareness for their local programs and to contribute to the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), thus helping people around the world receive proper diagnosis and treatment. 

Following a small Global Feast event with friends at my home in 2008, I was pleased to host my second Global Feast in Salt Lake City on September 12, 2009. As president of the Sugar House Rotary Club and then board member of the Utah Hemophilia Foundation (UHF), I felt uniquely positioned to be able to involve these organizations in a worthwhile joint effort to raise awareness about the needs of people with inherited bleeding disorders, and funds to support diagnosis and treatment in Utah and throughout the developing world.

Seeking to create a unique event, I met with Frank Krause, head chef and academic director of the International Culinary College in Salt Lake City with a proposal for his students to prepare an international feast for the dinner.

Chefs from the International Culinary College

Chef Frank was very receptive to the idea, determining that the experience would be beneficial to his curriculum, and soon had students and other instructors on board to ensure a successful event. The students were pleased to present their culinary skills and to donate their time and talents to a charitable cause. They were delightful as they presented their dishes to the participants, truly the highlight of the event.

The evening included compelling speakers talking about their challenges with inherited bleeding disorders and how their lives, and the lives of many throughout the world, have been impacted by this disorder. Local presenters included David Ohlson, who despite severe hemophilia and its complications, owns a successful business and was president of the board of the UHF at the time; Julia McDougal, an accomplished young woman with von Willebrand disease, recipient of WFH USA’s Susan Skinner Memorial Fund Scholarship in 2008, and UHF board member; and Scott Muir, director of the UHF.

Rob Christie, VP finance, WFH and parent of a child with hemophilia, provided a global perspective of the work of the WFH, highlighting the gaps in treatment and care in the developing world. Promotion included a PSA radio spot recorded by Scott and Rob that ran on several local stations, an email to members of the Rotary club, hemophilia foundation members and supporters, and hemophilia treatment center staff, as well as personal invitations to friends and family. Sixty people confirmed reservations. Donations in kind helped defray expenses, with the net proceeds divided between UHF and WFH USA.

With the help of Rotarians and board members of the Utah Hemophilia Foundation, participants enjoyed a delightful international meal and left with a broader understanding of the struggles of people with bleeding disorders locally and worldwide.

This Global Feast model of combining efforts with a culinary college, a Rotary club, and a hemophilia foundation is a formula for a successful event. I will be presenting this concept to Rotary clubs throughout the world with a booth to illustrate a Global Feast event at the Rotary International conference in Montreal from June 20-23. Approximately 25,000 Rotary club presidents and active members will attend the convention, many looking for ways their club can provide for the world’s underserved people. I feel the opportunity to expose Rotarians to the needs of people with hemophilia at the Montreal convention will create connections that will truly benefit the mission of WFH and people with bleeding disorders worldwide.

If you are interested in this project, or in creating a similar event, please contact me.

Find out more about how you can participate in a Global Feast.

April 2010