Service above self

Outback Steakhouse official believes in charity

by Sarah Barr

Staff Writer

At the Newington Rotary Club, the mission that members live by is to “turn passion for change into action.” Add a little Australian hospitality from Outback Steakhouse Managing Partner Mark Adrain and you have a bloomin’ combination.

He has only been affiliated with the nonprofit service club for about 18 months but positive impact is what he’s all about.

“Rotary is amazing on its own,” he said of the international organization that has been helping communities on the local, regional and world level since 1960. “Rotary has allowed me to connect with like-minded individuals that I wouldn’t know. They give so much and now I can give back more because it allows me to reach more people.”

Mark Adrain stands in front of Outback Steakhouse, where his team proudly hosts fund-raising events to support local charities and groups. - Courtesy photo

Through that partnership, this New Britain resident has worked with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and volunteered in soup kitchens.

“When you have a backing like this, you can do a lot more than you can as an individual,” he said.

It all started when he met a Rotary member at National Night Out, an annual community-building campaign sponsored by the Newington Police Department that promotes safer neighborhoods through camaraderie and relationships.

“I sat in on some meetings and it grew from there,” he said

David Tedeschi, a past president and senior member of the club for 12 years, recalled the connection.

“Being new to the area coming from New York, we invited him to a Newington Rotary membership meeting and within two weeks he joined, saying he was eager to make an impact on the community and he surely has,” Tedeschi said.

“As a Rotarian, he’s been a productive and energetic member, always coming up with opportunities to use his restaurant food and staff to support our projects and community fundraisers and special events,” he added.

“Most notably, he has been innovative by assisting with our efforts to combat human trafficking by regularly providing individually wrapped food containers used by the Salvation Army’s anti-human trafficking program known as the Bloom Initiative.”

Another example of Adrain’s involvement is through a joint project with the local police to distribute child ID kits that parents can use as a safeguard to find children who may go missing.

Because food is such a natural connection his restaurant at 3210 Berlin Turnpike regularly hosts fundraisers for local events such as the Life Be in it Extravaganza fireworks, charities and schools at both the primary and secondary levels.

Children and schools are a personal passion and the root of his domino effect of giving.

“I’ve been with Outback for 25 years. I started when I was in high school. One of my favorite things was doing things for my school supporting my fellow classmates. That feeling has stayed with me,” Adrain said.

That gift of giving has grown along with his roles and responsibilities with the restaurant.

“The restaurant loves to give back. I love to give back and I can make a bigger impact. Fundraising, making food drops, there’s so much opportunity to touch people in the community and improve it, even in a small way,” he said. NL

The Newington Rotary Club meets for lunch on Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m. at the Indian Hill Country Club. For more information log onto newingtonrotary.org.