San Diego Charity For Children With Cancer Hosts Food Fundraiser

SAN DIEGO, CA — A group of San Diego restaurants will prepare gourmet meals Sunday at an annual fundraiser for a foundation that drives low-income children with cancer to and from medical appointments.

The Emilio Nares Foundation intends to raise $300,000 through its outdoor Harvest of Hope event that will comprise food stations run by 18 restaurants, breweries and wineries, the foundation said in a news release.

The event will run from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Coasterra, one of the participating restaurants, at 880 Harbor Island Drive in San Diego. Tickets are available via the fundraiser’s website. Admission for one person is $150.

Among the entrees on offer will be paella, spicy macaroni with cheese and pumpkin desserts. Thorn Brewing Co. will donate beer.

The 18-year-old foundation has helped more than 4,000 children in Southern California reach appointments by driving them a combined 75,000 miles per year.

Children whose families lack cars have trouble getting to medical appointments without lengthy, uncomfortable bus and trolley rides, foundation co-founder Diane Nares told Patch on Wednesday. Chemotherapy treatments normally come up weekly if not more frequently, she said, and young cancer patients with fevers must go to hospitals for inpatient stays.

She and her husband, co-founder Richard Nares, saw a need for better transportation when they were taking their son, Emilio, in for his own appointments. Emilio died at age 5 from acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“For kids with suppressed immune systems, to ride the bus, that’s inappropriate,” said Diane Nares, who lives in San Diego.

By the end of the year, the foundation will begin helping as many as 1,700 children in Los Angeles, Diane Nares said.

Pre-pandemic fundraisers generated as much as $340,000 per event, Diane Nares said. Last year’s fundraiser was tough because it took place online.