‘Dining with Friends’ dinner at home of Houria Bellili raises $400 for Baine family

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Twenty-nine ladies participated in a “Dining with Friends” dinner at the home of Sports Stop owner Houria Bellili on July 25. photo provided by Donna Ritchie.

The Canyon Lake “Dining with Friends” dinner group raised $400 for Danny and Jen Baine, a Canyon Lake family in need due to a liver transplant Danny needs in order to survive.

Houria Bellili, owner of The Sports Stop, hosted the group’s monthly dinner at her home on July 25.

Twenty-nine women attended the dinner. Ten dollars was collected from each member to cover the cost of dinner. Rather than keeping the money to cover dinner costs, Houria decided to donate it all to the Baine family. An additional $110 dollars was collect from members attending the dinner, bringing the total to $400.

Two members, Pei Pei Gunter and Karen Smith, also donated the door prizes they won to Jen Baine.

As reported in the July 10, 2015 issue of The Friday Flyer, Danny Baine, a Canyon Lake resident and father of three children, has been told by his doctors that he will die without a liver transplant. Danny was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis in 2009, shortly after moving to Canyon Lake. He is too sick to work as an engineer at his job at Amtrak, and there’s been issues with his disability insurance; all of which has added an extra financial burden on the family.

Of the gifts from Houria and Dining with Friends, Jen says, “I know I’ve said it a hundred times already, but I have to say it again. Our community is really amazing! Thank you to all of the ladies who donated to our family, and to Houria for hosting the dinner and donating as well. Our family is very blessed to have such wonderful people around us and I’m looking forward to hanging out with this group of women at dinner next month!”

Danny Baine is pictured with his wife and children during healthier times. He was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis in 2009 and has become too ill to leave home, much less go to work. Photo provided by Jen Baine.

Donna Ritchie, the founder of the group, says, “Dining with Friends is a group of women in Canyon Lake that gets together once a month for food, fun and friendship. The purpose is to relax and unwind from the daily hustle and bustle, while meeting new friends and strengthening relationships with other women in the community.”

The Dining with Friends group meets once a month on a Saturday evening at the Lighthouse or at the home of one of the members. The group is open to any woman who lives in Canyon Lake and is at least 21 years old. Members are responsible for paying for their own dinner and drinks, but there are no club membership fees or monthly dues.

“Our membership has grown to 63 women since the group’s inception in October 2014,” says Donna. “On average, 20 to 30 women attend dinner each month. If you are new to Canyon Lake, this is a great opportunity to meet other women in the community in a relaxed, friendly environment.

For more information about joining the Canyon Lake Dining with Friends group, please visit http://dwfcanyonlake.webs.com. To donate to the Baine family, please contact Jen Baine at bainefam5@gmail.com.