Thank You for Your Submissions!

We've officially closed our RFP. Thank you so much for sharing your great ideas with us. We'll pull the team together next week to review submissions and let you know how many we've selected on December 20th!

Announcing a New DISHES Co-Director: Annalena Davis!

One dinner ago, Annalena Davis joined the DISHES team as Volunteer Coordinator. Her role was one of many created to make the events more sustainable. She was so well organized and dedicated, she was remembered later on as we started looking for someone to help co-direct the effort, filling the position vacated by co-founder Rachel Somerstein who left to concentrate on school and writing. 

With that, we'd like to introduce you all to Annalena - the third co-director of Dine In. Support Happenings. Enliven Syracuse. (DISHES)! Annalena rounds out the co-directing team with her talents for organization and finance. Above all, she is excited to be part of the planning for the next dinner “and help continue to make DISHES a success.” Here are some fun facts about the newest DISHES co-director:

• Her background is in community development working at different times for Cornell Cooperative Extension, Northside Urban Partnership, and Thoma Development Consultants: “DISHES is a good combination of [community development] and creativity.”
• Annalena went to school for Landscape Architecture, a passion that has translated in to her artwork: her graphic art prints are actually maps of cities that she sells through her business, Salty Lyon Prints & Photography. “They’re designs inspired by place. I love to travel, love to explore. I make prints so people can show their love for their homes or past homes.”

• Salty Lyon is named after two cities: “It’s the two places I’ve called home the longest,” she says. The “Salty” is for Syracuse and its heritage as the Salt City and “Lyon” is for State College, the town where she grew up and went to college. The “y” in “Lyon” is a reference to Lyons Hall at Penn State, where Annalena dormed for two years. Check out her work at SaltyLyon.etsy.com. 
• Annalena loves her current home: “I love Central New York for all of its outdoor activities. I enjoy all of the different events and things happening in Syracuse right now, arts-related or otherwise. There’s just a lot of energy here.”
• Her favorite hiking spot is the Adirondack mountains : “My husband and I try to go every year for camping, hiking, canoeing. I’m definitely a ‘mountain’ person.”

• Annalena’s favorite travel destination: “New Zealand and Montana. See, it’s so hard to choose! Okay, the Andes Mountains in Peru. They’re just beautiful.”
• Annalena’s favorite thing about joining the DISHES team: “I’m in charge of getting desserts—so that’s really fun! But, what I’m most excited about is going through the proposals and seeing the ideas that are floating around.”

And we are so excited to have her!

#GivingTuesday - Help Our Local Nonprofits!

The Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Giving Tuesday. It is a national movement created to motivate charities, families, businesses, and people like you to come together and give more.  This year, the Central New York Community Foundation is running a one-day contest for people to vote for their favorite nonprofit via facebook and twitter. The winning organization will win $5,000 from The Foundation! 

Tomorrow, support our local hardworking nonprofits by participating in this year's 'Giving Tuesday'.  All you have to do is tweet or post on the Community Foundation's Facebook wall (https://www.facebook.com/cnycf) with the name of your favorite CNY nonprofit and the hashtag #GivingTuesdayCNY.  Find out more at https://www.cnycf.org/givingtuesday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

While you're celebrating the holiday with family and friends, give some thought to submitting a project proposal to DISHES. You don’t have to be associated with an organization or a group of dedicated volunteers – you just need a compelling idea.

We can't wait to hear from you!

New Team Member - Mike Intaglietta

We've added another member to our team! We're very pleased to introduce Mike Intaglietta, who'll act as "Presentation Coach" for the DISHES effort.

Mike is an arts administrator and performer from Liverpool, NY. He has been performing and teaching improvisational and stand-up comedy since 1994. Mike co-founded the Thumbs UPstate Improv festival, one of the inaugural DISHES project proposals in 2011, and has since gone on to co-found the Syracuse Improv Collective.

Q. Why did you decide to get involved with DISHES?

Mike - DISHES was a key motivator for the creation of the Thumbs UPstate Improv Festival, which gave birth to the Syracuse Improv Collective: my two chief creative outlets in Syracuse. And we didn't even win. I would love to help more people visualize and realize their own projects.

Q. What is your favorite thing about DISHES?

Mike - The fact that no matter what project gets chosen, the community will be improved because of the ideas generated during the process.

Ready to hear your ideas!

Let's get cracking, Syracuse, and make things happen! We have $1,000 burning a hole in our pocket and we'd love to give you the opportunity to win it.  We are currently soliciting project ideas now through Friday, December 6th at midnight.  For more information and to submit an application, visit our 'Request for Proposal' tab.  Looking forward to hearing your ideas!!!!!

We feel the love!

We have some wonderful news to share with you all! Currently out on newsstands is the November/December issue of the Central New York Magazine: The Good Life, and Salt City DISHES graces the cover and has a lavish eight-page spread. We hope that this issue reaches many new people and encourages fresh thinking about our city. The piece also boasts a lovely assortment of photos, including our team members, past winners, and moments from our dinner events. Grab your copy today and check it out!

Many thanks to the magazine team including freelance writer, Renee Gadoua, for putting this all together.  We are truly honored!

Love, the DISHES team