In Houston, our Friends of Pablove supporters started Drive by Dinners as a way to help their friends and local business owners during the pandemic. But the generosity of these women did more than just bring delicious dinners to locals — their love spilled over into Pablove’s plate too– turning a simple meal-pickup event into a hugely successful fundraiser to help fight childhood cancer!

Michele Bua, owner of Bua’s Bistro & Catering has been a small business owner in Houston for many years. Her life and her business, like many others around the world, changed drastically when the virus hit. So, her friends, Jeanne Kugler and Carla Schraub of Allegiance Title Company Memorial stepped in to find a creative way they could help their community and small business survive. The group organized a weekly meal pick-up where Houstonians could pickup delicious, home cooked dinners curbside for just $5, (a suggested donation for The Pablove Foundation).

The palette-popping plates created by Chef Michele for the Drive by Dinners were so popular that after the first week, they had customers asking to order 3 – 5 extra meals.

The event ran for 4 weeks, and was fortunate to have numerous sponsors including Title Resource Guaranty, Old Republic Title Underwriters, Survey1 Surveyors, Certainty Home Loans – Joady Rubin & Debbie Cash and Tammy Rose with Old Republic Home Warranty.

These sponsors were vital to support Michele and her fabulous food. Of the experience, Kugler says:

“Before our lives changed I had wanted to do a little fundraiser for The Pablove Foundation. The pandemic changed all that!  We are all trying to stay healthy and safe. But, children with cancer and other chronic health issues are always fighting to stay healthy and survive!  We thought if we asked for a small ($5.00) donation for each dinner we could help support The Pablove Foundation. Our little idea to help a friend and raise a little money for Pablove was so fulfilling and a big success!”

We are proud to announce that Drive by Dinners raised $875.00 for Pablove. But it didn’t stop there, when Jeanne told her friend Scott Talley of  NIA “Network In Action” about the Drive By Dinners fundraiser, Scott jumped in and donated $125.00 to get to the goal of $1,000 total!

We are so grateful and thank all of our Houston sponsors, donors and volunteers who made this delicious event possible!