FIRE provides gourmet cuisine for the Alys Beach event

Grayton Beach, FL – (October 3, 2007) – The Grayton Beach restaurant, FIRE, created a menu of gourmet delights for the 2nd Annual Change the World Fundraiser scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007 at Alys Beach at 5 p.m. Ticket holders for the event will enjoy scrumptious savories including Chardonnay poached shrimp, smoked mussel ceviche, fig and Mascarpone stuffed Crimini mushrooms and pancetta and truffle risotto cake with rosemary pesto.

The evening fundraiser benefits the Barnes Family Foundation – a non-profit organization set up by Patricia “Sister Schubert” Barnes of the famous Sister Schubert yeast roll company. Funds raised for the foundation will be earmarked to build a home in the Ukraine to help house several orphaned children.

“FIRE restaurant created an extraordinary menu to help us with this event,” said Barnes. “They have assembled an incredible sampling of foods that will give people who come to the event a select taste of fine gourmet. They have even included Ukrainian Varenyky as a special nod to our cause.”

FIRE restaurant is one of the many businesses along 30A who united to organize and support this worthy cause. The event was the original brainstorm of Salon Twist owner Gina Shiflett, Cornerstone Marketing & Advertising founder Lisa Burwell, and Patricia “Sister Schubert” Barnes.

In addition to the food and wine provided by FIRE Restaurant, a photo exhibit of Ukrainian orphans, synchronized swimming performances, a chance to bid on fabulous auction items and the opportunity to purchase a tile in the Ukrainian orphanage Garden of Friends courtyard with your name on it for $500 amidst a setting to rival all that awaits you. One of the highlights of the evening will be an intimate “Songwriters in the Round” performance with award-winning singer/songwriter Greg Barnhill and a group of accomplished musicians from Nashville, Tennessee. Tickets to the event are $100 per person and can be purchased by calling Salon Twist at 850- 231-7853.

The Barnes Family Foundation chose Alys Beach’s Caliza Pool as the backdrop for their fundraiser. The dramatic design of the pool is in the timeless tradition of the Greek agora or the Roman piazza. Caliza features a 50’x100’ saltwater pool, a separate family pool, a 75-foot lap pool, a spa whirlpool and numerous secluded outdoor living areas flanked with tropical palms and gardens. The exquisite architecture includes arched colonnades, private cabanas, fountains and spectacular views of the Gulf of Mexico.

“Every aspect of Alys Beach has been created with families in mind,” said Jason Comer, Alys Beach’s Town Founder. “We’re extremely proud and honored to host an event that’s designed to unite deserving children with loving families.”

Through her foundation, Barnes expects the 2nd Annual Change the World Fundraiser to raise awareness and funds for Ukrainian orphans needing a nurturing, home-like environment to thrive in while they await adoption. Barnes and her family-run Barnes Family Foundation hope the evening of food and entertainment will raise enough money to bring them closer to realizing their dream of opening Sasha’s Home in Gorlovka, Ukraine.

“Our vision is to have a place where these abandoned children have the opportunity to move out of hospitals and live in an enriching, loving environment,” said Barnes. “Right now the system in Ukraine channels these abandoned children to crowded state-run orphanages, where conditions are poor by Western standards. We are renovating an old building that will be a brighter, warmer facility for the children to live in while they wait for their forever families. This will be Sasha’s Home.”

Barnes, who has visited Ukraine several times, has special ties to the children of Gorlovka. During one of her visits in 2003, she became involved in helping an orphan with clubbed feet obtained the surgeries he needed for his feet. In the process, Barnes fell in love with the boy and eventually adopted him. Alex, the adopted boy, is now 5 years old and lives with Barnes and her family in Andalusia, Alabama. Because of her role in the opening of the home and her adopted Ukrainian-born son named Alexsey, Barnes billed the new home for orphans, Sasha’s Home.

Those attending the event will have the opportunity to purchase a granite tile to create the Garden of Friends in the courtyard of Sasha’s Home. The goal is for 1,000 donors to become friends by each purchasing a $500 tile to be displayed as a reminder of the many people who cared enough to help provide this loving environment for children who were once abandoned. Each tile will be engraved with the donor’s name and place of residence.

“The gift is much more than a tile in a courtyard as beautiful as that is,” said Barnes. “It is a brighter future for children who would otherwise live in an institutionalized setting, never knowing the love of a family. By purchasing a tile and giving to Sasha’s Home, you really are changing the world by changing the lives of our children.”

Those wishing to help the plight of Ukrainian orphans can mail check made out to the Barnes Family Foundation, 102 Country Club Drive, Andalusia, AL, 36421 now or donate directly online by visiting www.barnesfamilyfoundation.org. on September 22, 2007 when the website is launched. All donations are tax-deductible. The Barnes Family Foundation began working with the abandoned babies long before the fundraising campaign was officially launched. Approximately $500,000 in medical supplies and cash has already been gifted through the foundation to support the work with these children. The complete renovation of Sasha’s Home will cost an estimated $1 million.

Corporate sponsors are still needed to help make this event a successful fundraiser. Please contact Lisa Burwell with Cornerstone Marketing & Advertising at 850-231-3087 ext. 1 to learn how you can help.

About the Barnes Family Foundation
The Barnes Family Foundation is a foundation dedicated to improving the lives of the less fortunate and enhancing our community through education, historical preservation and compassion. Since its inception in 2000, the Barnes Family Foundation has donated more than $700,000 to charities, scholarships and historical preservation. The Barnes Family Foundation is dedicated to seeing the realization of Sasha’s Home by supporting the mission and fundraising efforts. Their dream is to open Sasha’s Home in Gorlovka, Ukraine which will serve as a loving environment for abandoned children to thrive while they await adoption. To read more or to donate, please visit www.barnesfamilyfoundation.org.

About Patricia “Sister” Barnes
In 1989, Sister Schubert (dubbed "Sister" by a sibling) was baking her now famous rolls in the kitchen of her home for her small catering business and for friends and family using recipes belonging to her grandmother and other family members. That year, she donated some of her rolls to the food fair at her church. She filled 80 orders; the next year, 200; and the following year, 300. Today Sister Schubert's Homemade Rolls is a multi-million dollar corporation owned by the T. Marzetti Company with Sister and her husband, George Barnes, running the business. Her rolls can be found in the freezer section of grocery stores in more than half the states in the U.S.

About Alys Beach
A stunning new resort town located on Florida's famous Scenic Highway 30A, Alys Beach is the world's most extraordinary example of New Urbanism, a method of town planning recognized by The New York Times as “the most important collective architectural movement in the past fifty years.”

Master planned by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ), Alys Beach's amazing architectural vision drew its inspiration from both the islands of Bermuda and the family courtyard homes of Antigua, Guatemala. Alys Beach features 1,500 feet of sugar-white beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. When the development is complete, the 158-acre resort town will be home to over 600 villas, rowhouses, flats, courtyard homes and family compound retreats.

“Alys Beach may well be the most truly innovative community under construction in the United States today," said Andrés Duany of DPZ, designers of over 300 new towns and revitalization projects around the world. “Alys Beach will eventually be imitated everywhere, I am certain.”

For sales or rental information, please call 1-877-259-5500 or visit www.alysbeach.com.

About Greg Barnhill
Greg Barnhill, a native of New Orleans, is nothing short of a musically creative powerhouse. His move to Nashville in 1985 was a natural progression of his songwriting ability and his desire to grow as a musical artist. Barnhill's Grammy-nominated song, "Walkaway Joe," was recorded by Trisha Yearwood and Don Henley in 1993. Since then, Greg's songs have been embraced by many other famed Nashville recording artists including Tim McGraw, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Lonestar, Martina McBride, Bryan White, Etta James, Ty Herndon, John Berry, Shereé Austin, Pam Tillis and Lee Ann Womack. Greg's voice has been heard on many movie soundtracks and TV shows including "Today Show," "The View," "Baywatch," "Growing Pains," "Murphy Brown," "Touched by an Angel," and "Murder She Wrote."

Greg's newest CD, "No Chaser," displays his talent as a multi-genre musician and performing songwriter. For more information, visit www.gregbarnhill.com.