Del Webb Supports 1,000 Cooks For the Cure

46 Communities to Join KitchenAid and Komen in July 15-24 Initiative

When residents of Del Webb, America’s leading brand of active-adult communities, were challenged to help raise funds for the fight against breast cancer, they jumped at the opportunity. Del Webb has pledged that nearly 50 of its communities will participate in 1,000 Cooks for the Cure, a nationwide effort, July 15-24, to raise funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

1,000 Cooks for the Cure is part of Cook for the Cure®, a decade-long partnership between Komen and KitchenAid, which has raised more than $8 million for the cause through the sale of pink cooking products, celebrity chef auctions and grass-roots initiatives. Now, Del Webb is lending its community amenities centers and enlisting enthusiastic residents for the cause. While Cook for the Cure offers ways to support the cause year-round, the goal of this initiative is to enlist 1,000 cooks to host gatherings during these specific dates.

The idea behind 1,000 Cooks for the Cure is simplicity itself. Invite family, friends or colleagues for a dinner party, barbecue, office party, dessert sampling or any kind of get-together from July 15-24. Instead of wine, flowers or some other token of appreciation, ask guests to bring a donation in any amount for Komen for the Cure. The funds can be designated for either the organization’s national efforts or local breast cancer initiatives.

As for the host or hostess gift, KitchenAid has that covered. The host of any party registered at CookfortheCure.com who raises more than $50 will receive a special Villeroy & Boch “Pass the Plate” serving platter (valued at $24.95) as a thank you by mail upon receipt of contributions by Komen. Designed with artwork by PBS cooking show host Jacques Pépin, the platters were created to be “re-gifted” again and again, along with a homemade culinary creation from the giver. Each time the individually numbered plates are registered online at CookfortheCure.com and passed along to others, KitchenAid will make a $5 donation to Komen, ensuring that parties keep on giving long after guests have gone home.

Parties scheduled at the participating Del Webb active adult communities will include cooking demonstrations, auctions, prize giveaways and special entertainment, explained Deborah Meyer, chief marketing officer for Del Webb parent company, PulteGroup. Dates and other details can be found at www.delwebb.com/cookforthecure.

“Many people know someone who has been affected by breast cancer, and this national challenge is a meaningful and unique opportunity to join the cause locally to be part of the cure with our very active Del Webb residents,” Meyer said. “Our residents boast a high rate of volunteerism so harnessing that energy and camaraderie in the great gathering spaces of our Del Webb communities makes this a fantastic sponsorship to benefit the Komen cause.”

KitchenAid has committed to donating a minimum of $450,000 to Komen in connection with Cook for the Cure in 2011. For more information on 1,000 Cooks for the Cure and other ways to participate, visit CookfortheCure.com.