NEW ORLEANS (press release) – NOCHI officially announces its participation in the eighth annual GiveNOLA Day on Tuesday, May 4, hosted by the Greater New Orleans Foundation and presented by Baptist Community Ministries. GiveNOLA Day is a 24-hour online giving event spanning over the 13-parish Greater New Orleans Region. From 12:00 a.m. until midnight, community members are encouraged to support local community causes that shape New Orleans’ foundation and transform the lives of its residents.
To celebrate and raise awareness, NOCHI has planned GiveNOLA Day community programming with hospitality at their core. For supporters both near and far, NOCHI will host “The State of Hospitality,” a virtual panel moderated by Ian McNulty (Food Writer, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate) from 12:30-1:30 p.m. CT via Facebook Live. The panel will feature some of hospitality’s leading voices for a lively discussion on what comes next and how we can continue to support those working in the industry. Panelists are Mark Romig (Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, New Orleans & Company), Gary Netter (Culinary Ambassador of New Orleans, Proprietor of Next to Eat, Inc.), Lauren Darnell (Executive Director, MiNO Foundation), Leah Vautrot (Co-Owner, Coffee Science NOLA), and Ti Adelaide Martin (Co-Proprietor, Commander’s Family of Restaurants, and NOCHI Board Chair).
To close out the day, New Orleans neighbors are invited to visit NOCHI’s stunning courtyard and lobby for an in-person happy hour from 5:00-6:30pm CT. Drinks and small bites will be served, as well as giveaways for GiveNOLA Day donors. Attendance is free and RSVP is required on nochi.eventbrite.com. COVID-19 safety protocols will be strictly enforced.
“NOCHI is all about giving and New Orleans,” says Ti Adelaide Martin, NOCHI Board Chair. “We are New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute. We are from, of, and for New Orleans. We are only a couple years old, but already a critical party of educating culinary students, training our citizens to move up in the culinary and hospitality industry, and feeding our citizens in need. Giving to NOCHI is giving to New Orleans, and we thank you.”
“GiveNOLA Day is an exciting day on any year, but in 2021, we—as New Orleanians and as supporters of the hospitality industry—are working hard to recover from the past year and looking ahead to brighter days just around the corner,” says Executive Director, Leah Sarris. “At NOCHI, our essence is hospitality, so what better way to celebrate the day than with a virtual panel featuring some of the industry’s leaders, followed by a happy hour we can host to say thanks and give back? We’re humbled and fortunate to have made it through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re buoyed by the generous spirit of our city as embodied on GiveNOLA Day.”
