Dining Out For Life Returns With Biggest Event Yet
Vivent Health fundraiser spans 3 days, with 18 participating restaurants.
Drag queen Jaclyn Jill (left) and Vivent Health President and CEO Brandon Hill at Dining Out for Life in 2023. Photo courtesy of Vivent Health.
Dining Out For Life Milwaukee returns this week for its second installment, and with 18 participating restaurants, it’s easier than ever to put your money where your mouth is.
The food-focused fundraiser features local eateries—like Lakefront Brewery, Sanford and Midwest SAD—donating a portion of each bill to benefit Vivent Health, a nonprofit that supports people living with or affected by HIV through prevention, care and treatment services.
Diners can eat in, order takeout, or make a direct donation to the cause.
The inaugural Dining Out For Life was held in 2024. This year, the event has expanded to three days, running Sept. 18 through Sept. 21. It also comes with higher stakes given the current political climate, said Brandon Hill, president and CEO of Vivent Health.
“Federal cuts will set the fight against HIV back decades,” Hill said in a statement. “But in these scary times, we must take back our right to health and happiness in a world that often denies us those things. Dining Out For Life is a delicious way to reclaim communal power, resources and hope.”
Dining Out For Life kicks off Thursday, with participating restaurants including Bavette La Boucherie, Ono Kine Grindz, Lakefront Brewery, Brass Monkey Milwaukee Pub & Grill, Odd Duck, Flour Girl & Flame, Antigua and Sanford.
The Sept, 19 lineup features Amilinda, The Pasta Tree Restaurant & Wine Bar and Forage Kitchen locations in Milwaukee, Pewaukee and Whitefish Bay, followed by Midwest SAD, Melt Chocolates, Goodkind, Mother’s and Purslane on Sept. 20.
Club Charlies will host an after party on Sept. 21 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Guy Roeseler, co-owner of Ono Kine Grindz and a Vivent Health patient, participated in the inaugural Dining Out For Life. He returns for a second year in hopes of helping close the healthcare gap for Wisconsinites amid uncertain federal healthcare funding.
“At 65, I am grateful to still be here, alive and creating,” Roeseler said in a statement. “So many of my friends and generations never had that chance. I must give back because I won’t stand for the plague gaining ground.”
Vivent Health, a United Way–funded national nonprofit headquartered in Milwaukee, is recognized as a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In Wisconsin, the organization reports viral suppression rates of 95% among its patients, including 93% of Black patients and 97% of Latinx patients, compared with the national averages of 65% for all patients, 60% for Black patients and 64% for Hispanic patients.
To learn more about Dining Out for Life, visit the event website.
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