"It's In The Bag" Annual Wine Dinner - Registration is now closed! Donations can still be made below through the "Donate" button on the lower right side.
September 17, 2021 @ 5:30PM — 10:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
We are very excited to hold our in-person wine dinner this year after having to cancel our 2020 event. Our popular annual fundraising dinner brings the community together to support and inspire teenagers fighting all cancers as we raise funds for our Teen Support Bag Program. We will also celebrate the foundation's 11th anniversary, our 10th anniversary from 2020 and Nikki's 11th year "cancerversary!" With Covid, this past 18 months has been quite a fundraising challenge without the ability to hold in-person fundraisers. Each of our Teen Support Bags cost $75, so every dollar helps for our all-volunteer organization. At this time, please consider making a donation to Bite Me Cancer at the link on the right side of the page.
Complimentary valet parking is provided, follow the signs. CASH BAR ONLY is available per Westwood CC policy. Prosecco and wine is complimentary. Business or cocktail attire.
Dinner Program: 5:30pm - 6:30pm registration/reception, 6:45pm opening remarks, 7:00pm Nikki's speech, 7:15pm dinner served, 8:15pm presentation of honorees. 9:30pm silent auction closes.
Westwood Country Club and Bite Me Cancer will be using Covid protocols required at the time of the event. Staff will wear masks. Guests are asked to wear masks when not seated but it is not required at this time. Hand sanitizers will be available at tables.
Bite Me Cancer is an all-volunteer nonprofit foundation in Fairfax County, Virginia, founded in September 2010 by Nikki Ferraro, five months after she was diagnosed with a rare form of Thyroid Cancer. At the time, she was 17 years old and a junior at Chantilly High School in Virginia. Nikki was determined to lead a Relay for Life team just two weeks after her diagnosis. She named the team Bite Me Cancer and experienced immediate success raising over $20,000! When Nikki decided to create a foundation a few months later, she wanted to continue the legacy of her team’s name and thus her foundation became Bite Me Cancer.
The foundation began with a small board of directors and a focus on Nikki’s 2 goals: (1) to support and inspire teenagers battling all cancers through Teen Support Bags and other programs (2) to work towards new treatments and a cure for thyroid cancer through directly funding thyroid cancer research grants.
In June 2012, after raising enough funds for 100 Teen Support Bags, Bite Me Cancer began distributing the bags to teens dealing with all cancers. The program grew quickly in numbers of bags and number of hospitals who wanted the bags. Now, almost 8,600 teenagers with cancer have received a Teen Support Bag in every state and DC. There are almost 150 hospital partners and non-profit organizations who hand out the bags to teenagers dealing with cancer. Each bag costs $75 to purchase the items, assemble the bags and ship them out.
Here are some examples of the positive impact these bags are making for teenagers dealing with cancer (and their families)!
Host Committee
Mary Agee (former CEO and president of Northern Virginia Family Service) and Monica Tressler-Chandler of Sandy Spring Bank.
11-Year Honorees
In 2020, for our 10th anniversary, we had planned to honor 10 individual, families and organizations who have been outstanding supporters throughout the 10 years. So, we will now present 11 honorees to you at the 2021 dinner to celebrate 11 years!
Individual Category: Meryl Bisaga, Mark Searle
Families Category: Callahan Family, DiCesare Family, Raley Family
Organization Category: Cooley LLP, Custom Ink, Exhibit Edge, Inspired Embroidery, Karin’s Custom Images, RAELYN Marketing Promotions
Wine Dinner Sponsors
Empower Table Sponsors: Clarke-Hook Corporation; Cooley, LLP; Corley Family, Sandy Spring Bank, Training Solutions, Inc.
Inspire Sponsors: Phoenix Steel Erectors, Inc., Raley Family, Searle Family, United Bank
Gratitude Sponsors:
(Individual/Family) Mary Agee, Bisaga Family, Bonadie Trestrail Family, Brown Family, Buchen Family, Lee Corey, Kathy Cox, Christine Mai, Schmidt Family
(Organizations) American Century Investments, American Thyroid Association, BDO, Custom Ink, Ehinger Management LLC, Karin's Custom Images, Mind Body Aligned, RAELYN Marketing Promotions, Ventera, WineStyles South Riding
Reception Prosecco and dinner Italian wines provided at a discount through the partnership of Bravo Wine Imports and Wine Styles of South Riding, VA.
Dessert discounted and provided by Nothing Bundt Cakes, Vienna, VA:
Flowers discounted and arranged by Open Blooms, Chantilly, VA:
Giveaway gift for onsite donors provided by:
Signage provided by:
Silent Auction
A "small but mighty" silent auction will once again take place. The list below will be growing!
6 nights in Zulu Nyala in South Africa (3 years expiration, includes meals and safari
2 nights at MGM Resorts Properties in Las Vegas with 2 tickets to Cirque du Soleil
2 nights at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with 2 tickets to a show
2 nights at Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas with $150 food/beverage
Whiskey Club one-year membership, Bourbon Boulevard, Chantilly, VA
DJI Mini 2 Drone
Samsung TU7000 65" Class HDR Smart TV
Jabra Engage 65 Stereo Wireless Headset
Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II Bluetooth Speaker
Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS, 44mm)
Two tickets at the Kennedy Center for To Kill a Mockingbird, 2022
National Harbor package: includes 10 tickets to Bobby McKey's Piano Bar, 10 parking passes, 10 Capital Wheel passes & more
Tower Club, Vienna, VA free initiation fee and also dinner for 4
Here are some photos from our 2019 wine dinner. Top 2 photos from our reception before the dinner.
Photos below from inside the ballroom.
The photo below is of our Bite Me Cancer board of directors at the 2019 wine dinner.
: