Beneficiaries
Below is a history of how the Foundation was developed and who we have assisted over the last twenty-two years:
Over the years many people have asked me how the "Annual Benefit Cigar Dinner" got started. Actually, the answer is quite simple. In 1996 I began receiving a lot of media attention about my love of cigars. I guess the media looked at my love for cigars as a Catholic priest as something novel or unique. In fact I remember being asked once by a reporter "What do you think God thinks about you smoking cigars?" I quickly replied "I'm sure He doesn't mind, after all, He smokes Cohibas." When I realized how much attention I was drawing, I decided to try to do something worthwhile with it. Make no mistake, any time you see your name in print it pumps up your ego a bit. I'll be the first to admit that. And anyone that tells you otherwise is either lying or they're in the media so much that it doesn't matter to them any more. Anyway, if I was going to be recognized as a cigar personality, then I wanted to make sure that while I would enjoy it, I also needed to do some good with it at the same time. And so came the idea of hosting a cigar dinner. I had been to several of them around the country and believed that I could put one together also. At the first dinner, the people were so excited about it, they asked me to do one the next year. I made more contacts in the industry to help donate things and created a mailing list of cigar smokers in the Wichita area. Before I knew it, we were raising serious money that I could give to organizations that truly needed a helping hand financially. Today, my Annual Benefit Dinner is without a doubt, one of the nicest dinner events offered all year long in the Wichita area. In fact, we now have people coming from all over the United States each year. We have had some major manufacturers attend as well including Sal Fontana, Carlos Fuente, Jr., Tony Borhani and Rocky Patel. I hope that more manufacturers will be able to join us in the years to come. And that brings me to the real heroes of my Benefit Dinner: the cigar makers and retailers that have been so generous in helping me out over the years. Without them, I couldn't make this happen one year, let alone twenty-two. They have donated many items for the auctions and raffles and that is why my event has been so successful. A special thanks goes out to them for their continued kindness and support.
I also want to thank all of you that have made my Annual Benefit Dinner so successful over the years. With your kindness and generosity many people in the Wichita area have been assisted in ways they never imagined possible! I hope you will keep working with me as we continue this great tradition of local charity for those less fortunate than ourselves. In 2006 I turned the Dinner event into an annual fundraiser for the Foundation which was officially started that year.
I know that my Annual Benefit Cigar Dinner may not be your cup of tea. For those of you that do not indulge in cigars and would like to help support my foundation you can now make donations to The Setter Foundation Online. To make an online donation to The Setter Foundation, click the DONATION button below.
Over the years many people have asked me how the "Annual Benefit Cigar Dinner" got started. Actually, the answer is quite simple. In 1996 I began receiving a lot of media attention about my love of cigars. I guess the media looked at my love for cigars as a Catholic priest as something novel or unique. In fact I remember being asked once by a reporter "What do you think God thinks about you smoking cigars?" I quickly replied "I'm sure He doesn't mind, after all, He smokes Cohibas." When I realized how much attention I was drawing, I decided to try to do something worthwhile with it. Make no mistake, any time you see your name in print it pumps up your ego a bit. I'll be the first to admit that. And anyone that tells you otherwise is either lying or they're in the media so much that it doesn't matter to them any more. Anyway, if I was going to be recognized as a cigar personality, then I wanted to make sure that while I would enjoy it, I also needed to do some good with it at the same time. And so came the idea of hosting a cigar dinner. I had been to several of them around the country and believed that I could put one together also. At the first dinner, the people were so excited about it, they asked me to do one the next year. I made more contacts in the industry to help donate things and created a mailing list of cigar smokers in the Wichita area. Before I knew it, we were raising serious money that I could give to organizations that truly needed a helping hand financially. Today, my Annual Benefit Dinner is without a doubt, one of the nicest dinner events offered all year long in the Wichita area. In fact, we now have people coming from all over the United States each year. We have had some major manufacturers attend as well including Sal Fontana, Carlos Fuente, Jr., Tony Borhani and Rocky Patel. I hope that more manufacturers will be able to join us in the years to come. And that brings me to the real heroes of my Benefit Dinner: the cigar makers and retailers that have been so generous in helping me out over the years. Without them, I couldn't make this happen one year, let alone twenty-two. They have donated many items for the auctions and raffles and that is why my event has been so successful. A special thanks goes out to them for their continued kindness and support.
I also want to thank all of you that have made my Annual Benefit Dinner so successful over the years. With your kindness and generosity many people in the Wichita area have been assisted in ways they never imagined possible! I hope you will keep working with me as we continue this great tradition of local charity for those less fortunate than ourselves. In 2006 I turned the Dinner event into an annual fundraiser for the Foundation which was officially started that year.
I know that my Annual Benefit Cigar Dinner may not be your cup of tea. For those of you that do not indulge in cigars and would like to help support my foundation you can now make donations to The Setter Foundation Online. To make an online donation to The Setter Foundation, click the DONATION button below.
Each year in December I distribute the monies we have raised from my Annual Benefit Cigar Dinner for Local Charity. Here is a look at some of what we have done to help our local community:
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1997 $3,600 Orpheum Theater Renovation Effort 1998 $8,000 Guadalupe Clinic 1999 $20,000 Kansas Foodbank 2000 $18,000 Anthony Family Shelter 2001 $21,000 Literacy Resources of the Metropolitan Area 2002 $18,000 Lord's Diner 2003 $18,000 Center of Hope 2004 $16,000 A.C.P./Dodge House 2005 $20,000 Shelter The Heart Campaign 2006 $10,500 Gerard House, Cigar Family Foundation, Center of Hope, & Several Donations to area Charity Events 2007 $13,000 Mother Mary Anne Clinic, Union Rescue Mission, The Lord's Diner, Center of Hope, Gerard House, The ARC 2008 $16,050 The Lord's Diner, The ARC (Wichita Association for Retarded Children) of Sedgwick County, Center of Hope Homeless Prevention Agency, Girard House for Unwed Mothers, Old Town Neighborhood Association, Mother Mary Anne Clinic, Union Rescue Men's Homeless Shelter, Cigar Family Charitable Foundation 2009 $10,000 Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, Center of Hope Homeless Prevention Agency, Girard House for Unwed Mothers, Mother Mary Anne Clinic, The Lord's Diner, The ARC (Wichita Association for Retarded Children) Union Rescue Men's Homeless Shelter, Independent Living Resource Center Medical Equipment Recycling Network, Shoes and Socks for Wichitans |
2010 $2,500 Cigar Family Charitable Foundation 2011 $11,650 Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, Center of Hope Homeless Prevention Agency, Girard House for Unwed Mothers, Mother Mary Anne Clinic, The Lord's Diner, The ARC (Wichita Association for Retarded Children) Union Rescue Men's Homeless Shelter, Independent Living Resource Center Medical Equipment Recycling Network 2012 $19,000 Union Rescue Men's Homeless Shelter, Center of Hope Homeless Prevention Agency, Independent Living Resource Center Medical Equipment Recycling Network, The Lord's Diner, The ARC (Wichita Association for Retarded Children), Girard House for Unwed Mothers, Sentinels of Freedom, Cigar Family Charitable Foundation 2013 $18,240 The Lord's Diner, The ARC (Wichita Association for Retarded Children)Girard House for Unwed Mothers, Union Rescue Men's Homeless Shelter Center of Hope Homeless Prevention Agency, Cigar Family Charitable Foundation 2014 $19,000 The Lord's Diner, The ARC (Wichita Association for Retarded Children), Girard House for Unwed Mothers, Sentinels of Freedom, Cigar Family Charitable Foundation 2015 $19,000 The Lord's Diner, The ARC (Wichita Association for Retarded Children) Center of Hope Homeless Prevention Agency, Girard House for Unwed Mothers, Union Rescue Men's Homeless Shelter, Child Advocacy Center of Sedgwick County, Stepstone, Cigar Family Charitable Foundation 2016 $11,000 Center of Hope Homeless Prevention Agency, Girard House for Unwed Mothers, The Lord's Diner, The ARC (Wichita Association for Retarded Children), Union Rescue Men's Homeless Shelter 2017 $11,500 The Lord's Diner, Center of Hope Homeless Prevention Agency, Cigar Family Charitable Foundation 2018 $11,000 Center of Hope, Union Rescue Men's Homeless Shelter, The ARC (Wichita Association for Retarded Children), St. Anthony Pro-Life Outreach, The Lord's Diner, Cigar Family Charitable Foundation 2019 $15,000 The Lord's Diner, The ARC (Wichita Association for Retard Children) St. Anthony Pro-Life Outreach, Union Rescue Men's Homeless Shelter, Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, Center of Hope Homeless Prevention Agency |