Charleston's culinary social media club, TastemakersCHS, which connects local restaurants, influencers, and nonprofits together under one umbrella, announced that they have raised over $65,000 for 25 local nonprofits. The group, which has up to 45 members with a combined reach on Instagram of over 750,000, has donated funds to groups with missions ranging from helping to feed the homeless and end human trafficking to bettering education for children with special needs and providing fresh produce to underprivileged neighborhoods.
Charlotte Berger, Founder of CharlotteBergerPR, started the group in 2016 with two missions in mind - to provide top-notch social media promotion to Charleston's restaurant community and to bring funds and awareness to the city's impactful (and under-the-radar) nonprofits.
“I wanted to use the power of social media to go beyond just the typical ‘foodie’ content and dig deeper to use our combined following to give back to a city we all love so much,” Berger said.
The group is now run by TastemakersCHS member turned manager Emma Waugh, who also serves as an Account Executive at CharlotteBergerPR, and is the founder of @GirlEatsEverything. TatsemakersCHS meets once a month at local restaurants, bars, breweries, and distilleries, and has partnered with over 80 Charleston spots to date, including the likes of 82 Queen, Ma’am Saab, Post House, Basic Kitchen, Sullivan’s Fish Camp, and more.
The group selects a new nonprofit every quarter, and all restaurants that host the group agree to pick one dish or drink from their menu and donate $1 of every order for 30 days to TastemakersCHS’ quarterly nonprofit partner. A representative from the nonprofit also attends the events, and speaks to TastemakersCHS members about their mission, so the team can in turn share info about things like volunteer opportunities, upcoming events, and current critical needs with their followers.
A list of a few active TastemakersCHS members include:
- Jai Jones, @JaiEats
- Elise Devoe, @CookinwithBooze
- Vi Ton, @Hoangviton
- Katie Gerling, @SeasonsofKatie
- Jeanna Baiocco, @Cloudywithachanceofvodka
- Allison Olawsky, @TheAllisonEdition
- Sarah Louise Rhodes, @TheSpritzEffect
- Narcisa Maura, @Narcisa.Maura
- Leah Meszaros, @Leetle_Leaah
- Victoria Bowen, @HungryCharleston
