St. Tammany News

Mandeville's The Fresh Market store is on a mission to raise money to fight juvenile diabetes alongside businesses from across the nation in cooperation with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The Fresh Market will host two events to raise money for the JDRF in the coming months, The Fresh Market Representative Karina Timmel said. Those events include a Wine Gala Aug. 8 and the 13th annual Sidewalk Sale Sept. 7-9. Both of the events will be at the 1816 N. Causeway Blvd. location. The Sidewalk Sale, however, will be held at all 70 The Fresh Market stores, Timmel said.

The Wine Gala will include tasting stations and heavy hors d'oeuvres. Tickets may be purchased for the 7 to 9 p.m. event in advance at the store or that night at the door.

The Fresh Market's sidewalk sale will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day of the event, she said. All of the stores will offer hot dogs, root beer floats and fresh fruits for anyone who donates to the JDRF.

Timmel said the store is going to supply all of the food for the three-day event and 100 percent of the money raised will go to the foundation.

"For more than a decade, the Berry family and The Fresh Market have been dedicated supporters of JDRF's mission: to find a cure, fast," said JDRF President and CEO Arnold Donald.

The ultimate goal of the foundation and the fund-raisers is to put an end to type-one diabetes that plagues children and adults of all ages and nationalities, Timmel said.

In addition to these two events, the company also hosted Summer Fest: A Celebration of 25 Years of Service, a daylong celebration that donated $12,815 from raffle ticket sales to the foundation as well as 10 percent of the day's store sales, she said.

Timmel added that the Fresh Market was the first Presenting Sponsor for the Walk to Cure Diabetes held in the corporate headquarters city of Greensboro, N.C.

"The company has also consistently been a Research Sponsor and was honored at the Piedmont Triad Chapter's initial gala in 2001," she said.

"These events bring communities together each year to increase awareness and raise critically needed funds for research on type-one, often called juvenile diabetes," The Fresh Market Founder Ray Berry said. "Last year The Fresh Market was proud to raise $200,000; our goal for 2007 is $300,000."

Since its inception the JDRF has provided more than $1.16 billion to diabetes research worldwide, Timmel said.

More than 85 percent of JDRF's expenditures directly support research and research-related education.