Diners can order three-course meals at local restaurants now through Memorial Day, all while raising money for the OakBend Medical Center. Fourteen restaurants in Richmond, Rosenberg, Sugar Land and Fulshear will participate in the first OakBend Restaurant Week May 19-29. A percentage of proceeds from select three-course menus will be donated to the hospital. Some participating restaurants include Richmond’s La Cocina and Pier 36, Fulsher’s Dekker’s Mesquite Grill and Sugar Land’s The Ginger Mule. Some of the establishments offer lunch and dinner options, while others are only offering lunch or dinner donation menus. OakBend Medical Center marketing manager Anna Marie Webster said the donations will help the hospital make environmental updates, including renovating patient rooms and updating certain floors. “These donations will help OakBend continue providing the highest quality of care to the residents of Fort Bend County and surrounding communities,” she said. The fundraiser will be modeled after Houston Restaurant Weeks, which is held annually. Webster said because this is the first year in Fort Bend County, they are not certain how much money the event will raise. “We don’t have [an estimate] yet, and we don’t really have a ballpark,” she said. “You know it’s our first year to do this event, so we’re going to kind of see how it goes. Next year, we’ll have kind of an idea about some goals we want to meet.” Webster said she looks forward to seeing people help the hospital, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, in a way that has not been done before. “We’re excited to see the community come out and support the hospital in a different way, getting the Richmond, Rosenberg, Sugar Land and Fulshear restaurants involved and bringing awareness to the hospital and the services we offer,” she said. Pier 36 owner Jimmy Cantu said he believes the event should be a positive experience for all parties involved. “It’s a great opportunity for people to try out new dishes and new restaurants, and it will benefit the beautification and improvement of OakBend,” Cantu said. “There are 14 local restaurants to choose from—all independently owned and operated. People should come out and support the community.” Webster said OakBend has meetings scheduled with the restaurants after the event to discuss disbursing the funds raised. She added the event will be a whole new experience for the hospital, the restaurants and the community. “We’ll see what happens,” she said. “There’s a lot of buzz about it. The restaurants are excited, so we hope that it kind of picks up as the week goes on.”