In the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s devastation in Texas, Evanston businesses under Mayor Steve Hagerty’s leadership organized a “Dine and Donate” program with proceeds supporting nonprofit organizations assisting storm victims.

Community members can donate by eating and drinking at a different participating business each Thursday in September: First Flat Top Grill, next the company Accuity — which will host a happy hour with catering from Koi Evanston and other restaurants — then Terra & Vine and finally Whiskey Thief. The restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds, and donations will also be matched by local companies, including Accuity and Hagerty Consulting, according to a Facebook post from the mayor. The funds raised will go to the American Red Cross, Team Rubicon and Rotary International Gulf Coast Disaster Relief Donor Advised Fund, the post said.

“I could just give money to some disaster-relief organization, or we could really build community around the effort,” Hagerty told The Daily. “Recovery is not going to end in a day and neither is our support.”

Though the rain has stopped in Texas, about 30,000 people have been displaced and many buildings have been destroyed. Houston officials have urged people to donate to relief funds.

Hagerty, the founder of Hagerty Consulting, kickstarted the aid effort after the devastation of the hurricane was widely known.

He said his firm, which helps communities around the country prepare for and recover from disasters, has a contract with Houston Metro, which operates Houston’s public transportation systems. Hagerty Consulting will help the latter organization receive its complete federal funding, repair damages and cover its emergency response system.

Hagerty Consulting is also preparing to send professionals to Houston to help with housing recovery, Hagerty said.

Chad Luning, president of Grumman/Butkus Associates — one of the companies matching donations — said Hagerty Consulting reached out to the energy efficiency and sustainable design engineering consulting firm through a network of professional organizations in Evanston.

“Everybody is anxious to help in any way they can, and this is a great way to provide some direction while at the same time having an opportunity for Evanston residents and professionals to come together and feel like (they’re) part of a group effort,” Luning said.

Besides raising money to support the relief efforts in Texas, the program also aims to “bring people together” in Evanston — Northwestern students and city residents alike — as well as support local businesses, Hagerty said. Dining in restaurants for a good cause, he added, creates a feeling of “togetherness.”

The city’s program for Harvey was modeled after its endeavor to donate to relief efforts for the Nepal earthquake in April 2015, he said. That fundraiser only lasted two hours, but the community raised $16,000. Hagerty said he hopes to surpass that amount this time.

“If we can raise $16,000 for the people of Nepal after the earthquake in two hours, I think we can raise a lot more of that over a month-long period for the people of Texas who are in for a long recovery,” Hagerty said.

Correction: This story was updated to clarify that Accuity is hosting the second week’s “Dine and Donate” efforts, with catering from Koi Evanston and other restaurants.

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