Friendly rivalries with a dash of congenial competition for a good cause topped the menu at the 20th-annual Celebrity Waiter Night to benefit Children's Place Inc. on Monday.
As part of a new event, "Rivals in the Alley," the Aiken USC Gamecock crew, at Up Your Alley Chophouse, and the Aiken Clemson Tiger crew, at TakoSushi, waited tables and battled to earn the most tips from diners to support the organization.
Teams from Aiken High and South Aiken High competed across The Alley at the Mellow Mushroom, the newest restaurant to join the event. Principals from some of the elementary schools served by Children's Place vied for support at Davor's.
Amy Gregory, principal at Chukker Creek Elementary, greeted guests as they came through the door at Davor's.
"The Children's Place does a great job with the young children, and the kids that we get who come from there are prepared and ready for school," Gregory said. "I wanted to support their cause and the work that they do."
Kay Moody, a former middle school science and math teacher who also taught at USC Aiken, and her husband, Bob, of Aiken, came to dinner at Davor's specifically to support the event.
"This is our first time," Moody said. "I think it's a wonderful thing that they're doing, particularly when it's helping children in any way, shape or form."
Next door, Laken Bentley, a senior at South Aiken High, helped serve diners on the patio at Mellow Mushroom and hoped for a little more support for her school.
"A lot of Aiken High people have come out tonight, but there's a baseball game at South Aiken tonight," Bentley said. "Mainly, we wanted to support and promote the Children's Place and have a good night with our friends and everyone else. We're just having fun."
Proceeds from Celebrity Waiter Night support the mission of Children's Place to provide comprehensive child and family-development programs to meet the needs of high-risk children and their families.
The event, held every year on the Monday after Mother's Day, is Children's Place's biggest fundraiser.
"It provides an extra pot of money, if you will, for children who need physical therapy or play therapy or other therapies that might not be covered by their insurance," said Cathy Robey-Williams, vice president of the board of directors for Children's Place and director of nursing at Aiken Regional Medical Centers. "We give the care that's needed for the child, and we supplement whatever they need. We don't deny services because of their inability to pay."
Money raised at the event also supports other programs that promote healthy children and families.
"The parenting program teaches parents the appropriate parenting skills so that they can have a nurturing relationship with their child and have a successful experience upbringing their child so that the child has a successful life," Robey-Williams said.
An Aiken native, Larry Wood is a general assignment reporter.