About Us

Thank you for your interest in Restaurant Charities, Inc., doing business as the Bartenders’ Charity Ball.  We are a local, registered, not-for-profit charity raising money for children in need.  

The Bartenders' Charity Ball began in 1991 as a Holiday toy drive - an effort by a few service-industry workers to collect toys for sick children at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in Saint Louis, MO. Many years and changes later, the Charity Ball has become an annual event. It has grown to be one of the premier social events in St. Louis as well as a key fundraiser for a number of pediatric causes.

The year 2006 saw attendance top 1,600 people, allowing the charity to disperse over $60,000.00 to various groups: Cardinal Glennon, The 100 Neediest Cases, The Judevine Center, Catholic Charities, The Leukemia/Lymphoma Society, Operation Liftoff, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Saint Louis Effort for Aids, Saint Louis Crisis Nursery, and more. 

Funds given to Cardinal Glennon have gone to many diverse projects- from installing a satellite system to stocking the library to funeral cost assistance.  We still continue our tradition of delivering toys to the hospital around the holidays and recently started a “Christmas in July” celebration to bring holiday-like atmosphere to children that otherwise might not enjoy their summer. 

Another new summer fundraiser keeping us busy is our annual charity golf tournament. This past year's event raised over $6,000.00 for Operation Liftoff, a charity specializing in transporting critically-ill children and their families to out-of-state treatment facilities.