{"id":1909,"date":"2018-06-29T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1909"},"modified":"2018-06-29T15:52:31","modified_gmt":"2018-06-29T19:52:31","slug":"renee-duffy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1909","title":{"rendered":"Renee Duffy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Food for a Cause\u00a0<\/em><\/h1>\n

By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Mary Grace Johnson<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

A little more than seven years ago, self-proclaimed foodies Renee and Tim Duffy were sitting with local chef Kevin Gentile, pitching him an idea that would eventually become Philanthropic Foodies, the annual event that\u2019s raised more than $270,000 for local nonprofits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a bit of a harebrained idea in the beginning,\u201d Renee said, thinking back to that initial conversation. \u201cHey, Kevin,\u201d they\u2019d asked, \u201cif we get 20 people, will you come to our house and cook and we\u2019ll donate money to charity?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin agreed. As they started planning, the number of people kept increasing. Before long, they had 100 people interested in attending.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t do it at your house,\u201d Kevin told them. \u201cThe logistics that are involved are just crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He challenged them to attract 200 people to the event. Kevin agreed if they hit that magic number, he would close his restaurant on a Sunday and donate the space to the charity event. The couple worked with fellow executive committee member Paula Miller to achieve the goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, he pushed us,\u201d Renee said. \u201cIt was just kind of a crazy idea and we were like, \u2018OK, let\u2019s do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That year, they raised $27,000 for Samaritan Center and Friends of Dorothy House. The funds donated to Friends of Dorothy House essentially provided the nonprofit with half of 2012\u2019s operating budget.<\/p>\n

Renee became familiar with the Central New York area when she moved from New Hartford to study communication design at Syracuse University. She met her husband and decided to stay.<\/p>\n

About six months after graduating, she took a job at CXtec in graphic design. With the exception of a few years working for The Eventful Group, Renee\u2019s spent the majority of her career with CXtec. She\u2019s currently the vice president of marketing at CXtec and TERACAI.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s thanks to her time at CXtec that Renee is so invested in the local nonprofit community. One of the company\u2019s core values is commitment to the community, she explained. That commitment also guided Renee to Leadership Greater Syracuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose things really spurred my passion for giving back to the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Working various positions at CXtec gave Renee an appreciation for everything it takes to get a job done, she said. Those few years away from the company also\u00a0instilled in her new knowledge, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeaving is not always a bad thing, I\u2019ve learned,\u201d she said, explaining that her time in events production taught her about relationship building, networking, meeting the right people and making connections on a different scale. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have been prepared for the job I\u2019m doing now without having that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was during her time with Eventful that Philanthropic Foodies was born.<\/p>\n

During that first \u201charebrained\u201d year, the cofounders established a committee, something that\u2019s been invaluable over the years as the event has grown and evolved.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve also maintained the partnership with Friends of Dorothy House each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re huge supporters,\u201d Renee said. \u201cAs much as we are supporting them, they are supporting us and networking and getting it out in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with Friends of Dorothy House, Philanthropic Foodies has benefited six other area nonprofits over the years: The Samaritan Center, On Point for College, CancerConnects, Signature Music, The First Tee Syracuse and GiGi\u2019s Playhouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look for charities that are doing really good work under the radar,\u201d Renee said. \u201cSo, they might not take government funding. They may have no staff [or] be completely run by volunteers, but they\u2019re making an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Philanthropic Foodies organizers hope to not only raise funds for their nonprofit partners, but also raise awareness.<\/p>\n

In its inaugural year, Kevin Gentile recruited two local chefs to participate: Eva\u2019s European Sweets\u2019 Eva Zaczynski and Scotch \u2018n Sirloin chef Yann Guigne, formerly of L\u2019Adour. Since the beginning, the committee has had no trouble attracting and retaining chefs willing to be involved each year.<\/p>\n

With new restaurants and culinary endeavors opening in the area quite frequently, Renee hopes the event will help show Central New Yorkers \u2014 self-proclaimed foodies and novices alike \u2014 the myriad of options the region has to offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Syracuse, N.Y., and that may not scream \u2018food destination,\u2019\u201d she said, \u201cbut the chefs are really great and they\u2019re doing creative things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 7th annual Philanthropic Foodies culinary showcase will take place on\u00a0Sunday, July 29<\/span><\/span>\u00a0at Marriott Syracuse Downtown from\u00a04-8 p.m.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0The event will feature 17 local chefs, beverage tastings, live and silent auctions, and live entertainment. Proceeds will benefit Friends of Dorothy House and Shamrock Animal Fund. Tickets are available at\u00a0www.philanthropicfoodies.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Food for a Cause\u00a0 By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Mary Grace Johnson\u00a0 A little more than seven years ago, self-proclaimed foodies Renee and Tim Duffy were sitting with local chef Kevin Gentile, pitching him an idea that would eventually become Philanthropic Foodies, the annual event that\u2019s raised more than $270,000 for local nonprofits. \u201cIt…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[637,133,160,646,647,262],"class_list":["post-1909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-july-2018","tag-lorna-oppedisano","tag-mary-grace-johnson","tag-philanthropic-foodies","tag-renee-duffy","tag-syracuse-woman-magazine"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/ReneeSWM-4.jpg?fit=5200%2C3458&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1861,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1861","url_meta":{"origin":1909,"position":0},"title":"Joe Convertino Jr.","author":"Staff","date":"May 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Making Insurance Fun By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Mary Grace Johnson Joe Convertino Jr., president of CH Insurance, will be the first to admit insurance isn\u2019t always the most thrilling product to sell. 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