JUST SHOW UP.
Charlie Wecker Charity Nights
When someone needs help, you show up.
There are a lot of good reasons to run a restaurant.
We love food. We love hospitality. We love bringing people together around a table, creating a great night out, and watching a room come alive when the music starts.
But running a restaurant isn't easy.
Costs go up. Margins get tighter. There are always more bills, more challenges and more reasons to keep your head down and focus on your own business.
And yet, for us, there has always been another reason to open the doors.
PEOPLE.
For more than 20 years, Steve and Patti Wecker have been deeply involved in the Howard County community. They've served on boards, volunteered their time, supported organizations and somehow developed a habit of having a very difficult time saying "no" when someone needs a hand.
That spirit didn't start with the restaurant.
It started with Charlie.
This is Charlie.
Charlie Wecker believed in helping people.
He knew what it meant to work hard, raise a family and sometimes struggle to make ends meet. He also believed that when you had the ability to help someone else, you did.
No grand gesture was required.
You simply showed up.
"The best thing to do is show up."
That simple philosophy became part of the Wecker family long before Cured and 18th & 21st existed.
And eventually, it became part of who we are as a restaurant.
SO WHY DO WE DO THIS?
Each year, we open 18th & 21st for a series of Charlie Wecker Charity Nights.
Local 501(c)(3) organizations are invited to bring their supporters together for an evening where we provide the food, the drinks, the music and the space.
The organization brings the cause.
There is no charge to the charity.
There is no complicated formula.
Just people coming together, enjoying a great night and helping an organization do more of what it does best.
And while the night may last a few hours, the hope is that the impact lasts much longer.
THE FOOD
Our kitchen provides a selection of seasonal dishes and chef-created bites designed to make the evening feel like a night out—not a fundraiser where everyone happens to be eating.
THE DRINKS
Wine, craft beer and cocktails are part of the evening, because fundraising doesn't have to feel like work.
THE NUMBERS MATTER.
BUT THE PEOPLE MATTER MORE.
Over the years, Charlie Wecker Charity Nights have helped raise millions of dollars for organizations throughout Maryland.
But a dollar amount only tells part of the story.
Behind every fundraiser is a child who needs help.
A family that needs support.
A patient who needs care.
A home that needs to be built.
A neighbor who needs someone to show up.
That's the part we don't want to lose sight of.
This isn't really about fundraising.
It's about people helping people.
THE MUSIC
Live jazz is at the heart of our Jazz Club, giving every Charity Night the atmosphere of a great night at 18th & 21st.
THE SPACE
An intimate setting where supporters can gather, conversations can happen and an organization can tell its story.
All of it is provided by the Wecker family.
The only thing we ask is that you show up for the cause.
CHARITY NIGHTS AREN'T THE ONLY WAY TO SHOW UP.
Because we believe a restaurant should be about more than what's on the plate.
A restaurant is a gathering place.
It's a place where people celebrate, reconnect, laugh, listen to music, share a bottle of wine and sometimes talk about the things that matter most.
We have been incredibly fortunate to build a business that brings people together.
So when there is an opportunity to use that business to help someone else, we show up.
Even when restaurant life is challenging.
Especially then.
Because we don't believe doing the right thing should only happen when it's convenient.
10 NIGHTS. ONE BIG IDEA.
WE PROVIDE THE NIGHT. YOU PROVIDE THE CAUSE.
BECAUSE CHARLIE SHOWED US HOW.
Charlie never set out to create a legacy.
He simply lived by a few principles:
Help when you can.
Take care of people.
Show up.
Those principles have found their way into the Wecker family, into the restaurant and into the way we think about being part of our community.
We can't say yes to everything.
We've certainly learned that over the years.
But when we can help, we try.
And when someone needs us?
We show up.
Our Charlie Wecker Charity Nights are a special part of what we do, but they're not the only way we support local organizations.
If your organization is looking for a place to hold a fundraiser, we'd love to help you bring your supporters together.
Fundraising dinners, special events and other gatherings can be hosted at Cured or 18th & 21st, giving organizations an opportunity to raise money while giving their supporters a genuinely enjoyable experience.
You bring the people and the purpose.
We'll help make it a night worth remembering.
Drop us an email to start the conversation.
