Shoreline businesses and organizations are donating over $14,000 in prizes to support The Shoreline Experience, an exciting, limited-ticket fundraising raffle to benefit non-profit Community Dining Room (CDR).

Raffle tickets, $20 each, went on sale this week – and get yours soon: there's a maximum limit of 2,500 tickets to be sold before the drawing takes place at a special event set for Saturday, Oct. 16 at Bishop's Orchards Little Red Barn, Guilford.

The Shoreline Experience's three grand prizes are valued at $3,500 per prize. An $800-value top prize package will also be raffled off; as well as 15 additional winning tickets picked for prizes valued between $100 - $250 each.

While CDR is based in Branford at 30 Harrison Avenue, and is known locally for its programs which assist Branford and North Branford, CDR provides several meal programs to all residents of the shoreline, stretching from East Old Saybrook. So CDR fundraising organizer Courtney Rosenberg reached out to many area shoreline businesses to get involved and to help illustrate the reach of CDR.

"Even though it's located in Branford, its serving so many towns on the shoreline. So that was my goal with reaching out to shoreline businesses for a response," said Rosenberg.

And respond they did. Three grand prizes, valued at $3,500 per prize, will shower each of the three grand prize winners with $1500 in gift cards and services from a wide range of local businesses and organizations, and a beauty experience/photo portrait package, valued at $2,050 provided by local photographer Andi Landsbach.

"The grand prizes are each worth $3,500 between the gift cards and the hair and make-up and photography session with framed prints – it's just a soup to nuts beauty package," said Rosenberg (food pun not intended). "Andi Landsbach's donation took our grand prizes and more than doubled them. If someone wins one of those packages, it would also be at a great time to use some of it as Christmas gifts, or maybe to give to a senior for senior photos!"

The Shoreline Experience $800-value top prize is another which has been built up with help from local business folks. Rosenberg credits Loved Boutique of Branford owner Isa Bolotin and The Loft Salon of Branford owner Corrine Clark with teaming up to create a "beauty experience" for the winner, who will also receive a burgeoning basket of beauty-based gifts.

"Isa and Corrine have partnered to offer a beauty experience -- hair, cut, color and make up at The Loft, and then a $250 shopping spree/styling experience at Loved Boutique," said Rosenberg. "And that, together with a large generous gift basket with tons of beauty products, is valued at $800."

Rosenberg also thanks local sponsors who are stepping up to support prize boards that will be on display Oct. 16, each of which will be decorated with a bountiful collection of lottery scratch-off tickets. The sponsor boards will be mixed in with a number of valuable gift cards to make up 15 final raffle prizes, valued between $100 - $250 each.

With help from generous donations, grants and fundraisers like The Shoreline Experience, CDR's small but mighty staff and a platoon of volunteers provide hot, nutritious meals, seven days a week, to anyone in need in the shoreline towns it serves. The pandemic proved to stretch the need last year, but many in the community also stepped up to help CDR serve its mission.

"We served 54,425 meals between all of our programs in 2020," said Rosenberg. "It makes quite a statement to understand how much is coming out of that building, just in food services alone; and we offer other [client advocacy] help, besides. Like our tagline says, it's more than just a meal."

Due to restrictions of the pandemic, planning a large-scale in-person fundraiser wasn't an option this fall for Rosenberg and CDR. Instead, she developed The Shoreline Experience as a hybrid event that includes the recent, virtual launch the ticket sales raffle website (https://cdri.betterworld.org/) and offering the community a chance to come together, following COVID protocols, on the evening of the drawing at Bishop's Oct. 16 (winners need not be present).

Tickets can also be purchased through The Shoreline Experience Venmo business account, search @CommunityDiningRoom (please include phone number and email in subject line so that winners may be contacted). Paper raffle tickets are available at CDR; call (203) 488-9750 ext.3 to purchase.

In recent days, Rosenberg has been out and about around the shoreline, placing The Shoreline Experience lawn signs and making connections with many area business owners, merchants and leaders of shoreline organizations along the way.

"It's about promoting the Community Dining Room and promoting awareness that it's not just Branford we're serving, but towns all along the shoreline. That's why we're so grateful to have the drawing at Bishop's exciting event space in Guilford."

The live drawing will take place Sat. Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Bishop's Orchard Little Red Barn, 1355 Boston Post Road, Guilford. The drawing event will be followed by live music and food trucks will be on site. Admission to Bishop's is free.

"Bishop's has always been a big supporter of CDR through the years, and holding the drawing in Guilford is another way to help to promote that we serve many towns," said Rosenberg. "And then hopefully people who win these prizes will shop in the different shoreline towns where they might not normally shop, so it will help to boost small businesses as well."