Help Chicken Mac Truck celebrate its 1st birthday

CINCINNATI (FOX19) - The entire community is invited to celebrate Chicken Mac Truck's first year of success at their kid-friendly 1st Birthday Bash in Washington Park on Friday, July 28 from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., all for a great cause! 100% of party proceeds will benefit pediatric cancer research, specifically research for cancer and rare blood diseases, at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Chicken Mac Truck owners Jarod Maier and Casey Thiemann are passionate about giving back to the community and helping people in need. Not only have they been personally affected by pediatric cancer in their own families, but they were inspired by the touching story of one local mom and her twin boys. One of Annie Hoober's sons, Aiden, suffers from a rare disease called Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis – LCH for short. LCH is a rare, inflammatory, cancer-like disorder that produces destructive and invasive tumors. Aiden was diagnosed with LCH when he was just 1 year old, and began chemotherapy treatments immediately.

A cure for LCH has yet to be discovered.  Aiden, now 3 years old, is coincidentally celebrating 1 year of being chemo-free this month, thanks to the excellent care he received at Children's. When this coincidence was discovered, Annie, Jarod and Casey decided to join forces to celebrate both of their major milestones together by not only having a large-scale community party, but also by raising money and awareness for this incredible cause. "We cannot thank Chicken Mac Truck enough for their partnership and amazingly generous support of LCH research," Annie said.

"Cincinnati Children's is one of the few places in the country where parents like me can turn for answers about this under-studied disease. My son had wonderful doctors, but we are still in a fight against this rare disease. We want to raise as much money as we can to help find a cure."  Jarod and Casey are philanthropists at heart, and making an impact is at the heart of their business.  The duo closed their Fairfield brick and mortar restaurant in June 2016, and hit the road as Chicken Mac Truck right away.

During their debut week, they raised money to help Cincinnati's homeless community. They ultimately donated $1,000 to Fall Feast, which provides low-income families with free Thanksgiving meals each year. Since then, they have seen incredible success, serving 15,000 bowls of chicken mac n' cheese, also known as "happiness in a bowl," at offices and events around town.

They also just purchased a second truck to accommodate the increasing demand for their uniquely delicious food. Not only are the mobile restaurateurs donating 100% of their July 28 birthday party proceeds to Cincinnati Children's Hospital cancer research efforts, but they will also provide lunch to the patients, families, doctors, nurses and staff in the Cincinnati Children's Hospital oncology department the day of the party.

"It's really important to us that we celebrate our first year of success by giving back in a big way," said truck co-owner, Casey Thiemann. "Not only do we want the entire community to come out and celebrate with us on July 28, but we also want to bring smiles to the faces of the kids and families battling cancer here locally every day. And we want to express our profound appreciation to the doctors, nurses and researchers who are fighting this horrible disease and striving to find a cure."

A variety of chicken and mac n' cheese dishes will be served during the party via donation only (minimum donation $8), and everyone is invited.

The truck will also provide a live DJ, bouncy houses for the kids, entertainment, FREE birthday cake, party favors and more! Representatives from Cincinnati Children's Hospital will also be on-site accepting additional donations and providing information and notecards for the community to write notes of encouragement to the pediatric cancer patients at Children's.

"We really enjoy connecting with the community and helping those in need. We have been blown away by the support and love we've received during our first year in business, and we want to continue to make a positive impact everywhere we go," said truck co-owner, Jarod Maier. "Everyone is invited to join us at Chicken Mac Truck's 1st Birthday Bash and fundraiser to help us make a major difference in the lives of precious kids like Aiden who suffer from rare diseases and cancer."

View the official Facebook event by visiting the truck's page at https://www.facebook.com/chickenmactruck/