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Today is the Janeway’s Annual Telethon, and yet again, they received a significant bump from Jeremy Charles — chef and co-owner of the nationally renowned restaurants, Raymonds and The Merchant Tavern

For the last few years, Charles has held an annual event named after his first son, Dinner for Levi. “Levi was born prematurely at twenty-five weeks, and was cared for in the Neonatal Unit at the Janeway, by the most loving and compassionate nurses and doctors,” Jeremy has told The Overcast. “Although he lived for a short time, he was a fighter and made an enormous impact on everyone around him. This fundraiser is our way of giving back to the staff of the neonatal unit, and a way of keeping our son’s spirit alive.”

Since its inception in 2012, the event has raised between $46,000-$58,000 a year, and today’s cheque was approximately $50,000. The event hosts different chefs every time, from across the country. The seven-course feast is meant to showcase “the talent of these chefs and the bounty of Newfoundland.” Charles typically takes these chefs out into the wild to catch and forage the ingredients they’ll use, making it an authentic Newfoundland experience for the visiting chefs. The seven course tasting menu features a dish from each chef, with wine pairings, as well as a live auction of fine art, “as well as various unique items  and excursions.”

Money from Dinner for Levi has been significant enough each year that the event is single-handedly responsible for the Janeway’s purchase of equipment like an apparatus to lower a patient’s body temperature in order to help reduce the risk of tissue injury, as well as a neonatal ventilator boasting the newest technology available.