The Great Decorate

The staff has been divided into eight teams of three people, each team focused on designing the most popular Christmas Tree of the bunch. And for good reason. Hazel’s staff and owners want to encourage the community to vote on their favorite decorated tree by donating to a GoFundMe campaign that supports The Great Decorate competition. Each tree will have its own theme and be connected to a high-risk, local teenager in foster care. The designers will compete to drum up attention for their work, but more so for the cause and the teen they support.

“The staff is so excited to do this,” said Beth Hussey, an owner at Hazel’s. “We truly wanted to do something that would be meaningful right here in our community.”

Fostering help for the holidays

To make it all happen, Hazel’s team is collaborating with Tara Fortney, an advocate for and foster parent herself.

“I have seen the needs of children in the foster care system personally as my husband and I are foster parents,” said Fortney. “All of the kids in foster care need people to step up and be advocates for them in the face of significant trauma in their lives and in being ripped from their families. But, older children in particular are especially susceptible because most families that foster do not want older kids.

“The worst part is that when a foster child becomes of age (18) and is not adopted, they are sent off on their own, many times becoming homeless with no support or anything to their name. This is referred to as ‘aging out’ of the system and the statistics of these children are devastating. So, in discussing the children that are most in need with Beth, she felt a particular tug at her BIG heart about this type of foster child.”

Fortney is an area manager for Great Lakes Wine & Spirits and has worked closely with Hazel’s staff for wine training since it opened. Fortney and her husband have been foster parents for the past 8 years and have supported six children, from ages 2 months to 12 years old.

How to help

“No matter what you believe or why you feel called to help, anyone and everyone can make a difference,” said Fortney. Yes, there is so much heartbreak in fostering children. But, there is also so much hope. So much.”
The funds raised through The Great Decorate will be donated to the teens to aid in their transition to adulthood. “These teenagers are about to age-out of the system,” said Hussey. “They are cut off from support and sent into the world to fend for themselves – which is tremendously difficult.”

The staff at Hazel’s came up with this way to help make that transition a little easier. The teens will all receive their donations by Christmas, Dec. 25, 2019.  It’s also a gift to the winning team at Hazel’s – who will take home a prize from the restaurants’ owners.

Those dining at Hazel’s over the holiday season will see the live Christmas trees at the entry and learn more about the competition through holiday cards distributed to each table.

The event coincides with a city-wide holiday window decorating competition. It’s also meant to foster teamwork among the staff members and strengthen the sense of community that Hazel’s was built upon when it opened in 2018.