Dinner4Good

Eat, drink and raise money for Winston's Wish!

Raise money for Winston's Wish simply by doing something you enjoy - having your friends round for dinner! Whether you're a whizz in the kitchen or not, we can help you make your event a success, in conjunction with our partner Dinner4Good. This really exciting venture is so easy, all the organising is done online and you can have lots of fun with your menu.

Just go to www.dinner4good.com/WinstonsWish and you'll see it couldn't be easier to host a dinner.

How does it work?
You start by creating a personalised "Dinner Page" on the Dinner4Good website, of which Winston's Wish is a listed charity, (takes about 5 minutes). Through Dinner4Good you can write up your menu, list the time, date and place of your dinner, and email an invitation to all your prospective guests, with the details. You've then got an online page where you can manage your dinner party. Your guests then accept and donate online, which means you can see who's coming and how much is being raised - in a click. It reduces the awkwardness of asking for money and no there's no hassle with collecting cash. Dinner4Good takes care of everything, including the Gift Aid application - so all you have to do is eat, drink and enjoy yourselves!

How do I raise money?
Simple - your donation will be the cost of the meal, and your guests will pay to come. Once your guests have received your email invitation via Dinner4Good they will need to respond to this email to let you know whether or not they will attend. A link in their email will take them straight to your dinner party page online. They will then be able to input their attendance details and have the opportunity to donate, through a secure online page.

How to plan your dinner
What you do on the night is entirely up to you, but some things you might like to consider are:

• To keep your costs down, cook things like soups, stews or vegetarian meals.
• 6-10 guests is usually a manageable number for a dinner party, but if you are feeling confident and adventurous you can invite as many as you like!
• Having a buffet, picnic or barbeque can make it easier for you and you can invite more people.
• Make your dinner table look pretty and inviting, with candles, place names and decorations - these can be bought inexpensively.

Some fun ideas
Why not have a dress code or theme to your dinner party - for example, a Hawaiian night, a Mexican theme, black tie, or a sports evening, wherever your imagination takes you.

• Why not make fundraising through Dinner4Good a regular event? You could base your dinners around special occasions such as Easter, St Patrick's Day, Midsummer night, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, Christmas...the possibilities are many.
• Not so confident of your cooking skills? Make your ‘dinner' a barbeque, buffet or picnic.

 How to get started
1. Log on to www.dinner4good.com/WinstonsWish now and click on ‘Host a dinner'.
2. Set up your email invitations.
3. Register on the site so you can check who's coming and how much money has been raised.
4. Enter the names and email addresses of your guests.
5. Preview what your email invitation will look like - at this stage you can edit anything that's not quite right.
6. Hit the 'send' button and wait for the replies!