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SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY Charity Regist er OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE. IMAGINE GALA 70 Details: September 14, World Market Center Las Vegas; blindcenter.org ONE RUN Event: Town Square presents five-kilometer and one-mile runs, with proceeds benefiting organizations including Penny for Thought, Safe Nest, the Melanoma Research Foundation, and Olive Crest Nevada. Details: September 14, Town Square; onerunlasvegas.com DIAMOND DIG Event: Guests can purchase "digs" in a gemstone-filled sandbox and win corresponding prizes at this MJ Christensen event to benefit Dress for Success Southern Nevada. Details: September 19, 10400 S. Eastern Ave., Henderson; dressforsuccesssouthernnevada.org BBQ AT THE BITTER ROOT RANCH Event: Frank and Bonnie Martin (PICTURED) of the Bitter Root Ranch host this fundraiser for Opportunity Village, with cocktail tastings, country music from Golden Nugget's Country Superstars, pony rides, a mechanical bull, and a Morgan horse show. Details: September 21, Bitter Root Ranch; opportunityvillage.org DISH LAS VEGAS Event: Taste cuisine from fine local restaurants and celebrity chefs like Rick Moonen (PICTURED) and enjoy live entertainment as you help fight hunger in Southern Nevada at this fundraiser for Three Square Food Bank. Details: September 26, Palms Pool; threesquare.org TEDDY BEAR RUN & WALK Event: The UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation presents this run and walk to support its efforts to provide grants to help pay for medical treatments and services for families in need of aid. Details: September 28, Tivoli Village; uhccf.org/teddybearrunwalk.html RUN WALK ROLL AGAINST BULLYING Event: Stand up against bullies during National Bullying Prevention Month. Funds benefit Nevada PEP's efforts to eliminate bullying. Details: September 29, Tivoli Village; nvpep.org/bullying.html PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF CANDACE MADDIN (HARNESS, STUDENTS); BY ADAM TAYLOR/ABC VIA GETTY IMAGES (RAKES); JEFF GALE (MARTINS); ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES (MOONEN) continued from page 68 At that time you couldn't turn on the television or pick up the newspaper without hearing about how unhealthy this generation of children is and how their life expectancy may be less than that of their parents. I remember thinking that these kids don't have a clue what it's like to pull a fresh carrot out of the ground, and that's when I decided to found Create a Change Now. To improve their health, kids grow their own food, then We are so far removed from growing our own chefs like Darnell Harness food that some of these kids think vegetables are teach them to prepare it. grown at the market. Many kids at at-risk schools eat out of cans and don't have access to fresh vegetables. So we help put edible gardens into their schools so they can learn where vegetables are grown. Then we marry that garden with a nutrition curriculum. Teachers can get the kids out of the classroom and into the garden, where they teach them science, math, and more. The kids get their hands in the dirt and nurture those seeds and watch them grow. That leads to the third and best part: bringing chefs into the school to teach kids how to cook what they have grown. A lot of these kids don't have role models. So these chefs come into their schools and it's like they're rock stars—the kids are so excited! The chefs pick whatever is ready in the garden, then show the kids how to cook it. I have stacks of letters from kids who say, "I ate mushrooms and vegetable soup and really liked it." Parents get excited because their kids are not turning their nose up at eating vegetables. Eventually we will work with high schools, but right now it's an elementary school program. We have to get to the young ones who are starting those bad habits. I tell the students, "This is your garden to nurture. In five years, 10 years, you will see that it is still flourishing and know that so many of you were a part of starting it." We want them to feel empowered and take ownership of it. We raise funds to plant and maintain the garden for two years. We look to our local business community to help contribute. What a wonderful way to leave a legacy in this town, with your name on a school garden. On September 7, we will hold our first Circus Garden Party fundraiser, where we hope to raise $50,000. We'll have chef demonstrations, eight fabulous restaurants will be passing our sample servings, and so much more. It will be an epicurean event for healthy eating! The joy I felt when I was landing a new account in my former life does not measure up to watching children's faces as they pull a big fat red radish out of the ground. It's so fulfilling. I am creating a change now in children's lives, and I am so proud of that. Circus Garden Party will be held September 7 at the Historic Fifth Street School. createachangenow.org V Event: This Blind Center of Nevada fundraiser features live and silent auctions, dancer Brilynn Rakes (PICTURED), martinis by Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Oscar Goodman, and dinner from Le Cordon Bleu. VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 068-070_V_SP_SOG_Candace_Maddin_Sept13.indd 70 8/6/13 10:37 AM