Sign Away For Goodwill

It was the perfect evening for samosas and crispy calamari as guests mixed and mingled while enjoying drinks and appetizers provided by Kirans’ Indian Restaurant, a local favorite of many Indians and Americans for authentic India cuisine. The main highlight of the evening was the five distinguished chefs, including Kiran Verma, signing the much talked about book Green Beans and Guacamole, a culmination of recipes from more than 45 Houston chefs and restaurants.

The other chefs signing at the restaurant were Chef John Sheely – Mockingbird Bistro, Chef Richard Knight – Feast, Chef Mario Valdez – Rainbow Lodge, and Chef Michael Pellegrino – Max’s Wine Dive. Green Beans and Guacamole, an expertly-photographed cookbook benefits the ARC, an organization dedicated to helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Arc of Greater Houston is a nonprofit organization that helps promote and protect the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.

Chef Kiran Verma along with her daughter Pooja warmly greeted guests as they were not only just hosts for the book signing event but Kiran also expressed compassion for the cause. “The charity is close to my heart as I have someone close in my family suffering from down syndrome,” shared Kiran.

Founded by Belinda Hillhouse in 2009, Friends for Good is a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to enhancing lives by supporting and promoting charitable deeds through networking and word-of-mouth efforts.

Friends for Good volunteer board of directors Shelly de Zevallos, Belinda Hillhouse and Laurie McNay, are collectively responsible for planning and carrying out the organization’s projects, including Green Beans and Guacamole. “Almost 5,000 copies of the book have been published and only a few are left. We have managed to raise $80,000 so far with various events and are still going strong,” says Cynthia Piro.

Photos by Sandeep Khandelwal

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