Charitable foundation prepares to luau

By Sam Harvey
Staff Reporter

It’s “Tommy Bahama Formal” this year: anything goes — from tuxedo or evening gown to Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian poinsettias. As QRCF’s Bob Volpe pointed out, they traditionally put on more of an “after hours” open house, but this year had planned the Caribbean Christmas as an evening out instead.

It’s a little closer to the fashionable hour (7 to 11 p.m.), a little more formal — for those who care to make it so — and Volpe reminded parents to reserve a babysitter.

To complete the Carribean touch: a hint of salt in the air and the crash of waves on the beach — the QRCF has garnered Mango’s, overlooking the ocean, for this year’s event.

“It’s going to be great,” Volpe predicted. “Fantastic location.”

Caribbean Christmas organizers have some live entertainment slated (calypso, courtesy of the Island Boys), and the Mango’s staff will be serving hors d’oevres and beverages. Harkening to the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce’s popular summer food event, Volpe promised a mini-“Taste of” event, with offerings from some of the finest local restaurants.

And there will be plenty of auction items to ogle. Volpe ran down the list of artists who’d agreed to donate, and it reads like a Southeastern Delaware Artists Studio Tour (SEDAST) map — nearly every one of those artists had contributed. Volpe said many of the Bethany Beach Watercolor Society artists would be contributing, too, as well as some individual artists from around the community.

The QRCF will be auctioning off all kinds of fun stuff, besides art: like rounds of golf and equipment, a month’s membership at a fitness club and a trip to a day spa.

And it’s all for a good cause — the foundation supports several scholarships every year, for graduating high-school seniors from the area.

As QRCF’s Dave Maull pointed out, the foundation had its biggest year ever last year. Donations and contributions funded three $2,000 scholarships based on financial need, plus a $2,000 Bill Murray Scholarship (community service-oriented), and the foundation also renewed three scholarships ($1,000 a pop).

“I’m sure it was nice surprise for those kids when they opened those letters and found out they were getting another $1,000,” Maull said.

The scholarship money goes directly to the students’ college or university, he explained, and so far the QRCF has helped local students pay for educations at Delaware Tech, the University of Delaware, Wesley College, DeVry University and Goldey-Beacom, among others.

Less than four years since the foundation’s inception, Maull said they were already hearing some success stories — in QRCF scholarship recipient Tara Boemmel, for instance. Boemmel had managed to build a very solid A average at Liberty University, and she’d earned a hard-to-get internship at DreamWorks Entertainment this past summer, Maull pointed out.

The QRCF has also supported local organizations like the Friends of the South Coastal Library, CHEER Sussex County Senior Services and the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company.

As QRCF President Rick Hundley explained, the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce generated the foundation back in 2001, as a way to administer the charitable donations the Chamber frequently receives. For folks looking to support a worthy cause in the immediate community, the QRCF could help, he said. (And it’s a nonprofit 501(c)(3), so all donations are tax deductible.)

But enough business — QRCF members can deal with that stuff throughout the rest of the year. At least for Saturday, Dec. 3, it’s all about gathering with friends for a bit of early winter cheer.

Tickets to the Caribbean Christmas are going for $35 apiece (all proceeds toward foundation causes). Call Bob Volpe at (302) 537-7807 or stop by one of these local businesses now selling tickets:

• Beach Liquors, Route 1 and Jefferson Bridge Road (539-7400)

• Bethany Beach Books, Garfield Parkway and North Atlantic Avenue, downtown Bethany (539-2522)

• Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce, Route 1, north of Fenwick Island (539-2100)

• Coastal Point, on Route 26 in Ocean View (539-1788)

• Cottage Café, on Route 1, south of Bethany Beach, (539-8710)

• At the venue, Mango’s, Garfield Parkway and the boards, downtown Bethany Beach (537-6621).