(Hyannis, July 25, 2011) Olive and Dave Chase of Marstons Mills know firsthand the importance of the Cape Cod Hospital Emergency Department. Not only was Olive’s father, Joseph M. DiRienzo, treated there frequently during the twenty years he lived on the Cape; their son Dave Jr. received excellent care when he was a young boy suffering from an extremely rare and baffling condition. “The Cape Cod Hospital Emergency Department has been very important to my family over many, many years,” Olive recently stated.

That is why Olive, the founder and owner of the Casual Gourmet, decided to celebrate the anniversary of their 25th year in business by giving back to the community with a fund raiser to benefit the hospital’s emergency department.

“Instead of throwing ourselves a party,” Olive said, “we decided to raise both money and awareness for the expansion of the Emergency Department – an important community asset – and the need to keep it vibrant and healthy. Dave and I have seen on many occasions how busy they are, how competent and compassionate the doctors and nurses and support staff are, and how vital they are to the community.”

To raise funds for the Emergency Department, raffle tickets are being offered by the Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation for one dollar each. The Casual Gourmet is matching all ticket sales and proceeds will be donated directly to the hospital.

Tickets will be available at The Casual Gourmet in Centerville, The Casual Gourmet Express at Cape Cod Mall, The Casual Gourmet Express in the lobby of Cape Cod Hospital, and at the Cape Cod Hospital Gift Shop. Anyone purchasing five or more raffle tickets will receive a free cup of coffee from The Casual Gourmet. Weekly drawings will be held for a $25 gift certificate to the Casual Gourmet and a grand prize drawing will be held on September 2nd for a $250 Casual Gourmet gift certificate. Raffle tickets will be on sale at all locations through September 2.

Olive founded the Casual Gourmet in the Centerville Shopping Center in 1986, the same year she and Dave were married. They moved into a larger store front there in 1991 and to the Bell Tower Mall in 1995, before buying their current location next door in 2006. “We move about 300 feet at a time,” Olive joked. The coffee shop in the hospital was opened in 1999 and moved a little less than that across the lobby during the renovations last year.

“We have been blessed to grow our business on Cape Cod and are grateful for the opportunity to serve the Cape community,” Olive said. “The Cape Cod Hospital Emergency Department has been there for us every step of the way. They did amazing things for my dad and my son and we will always be grateful to them. This is the perfect way for us to celebrate our silver anniversary.”