AHG Cares

Committed to Community

Ascend Hospitality Group (AHG) invests wholly in both our team members and our guests to take service to the next level, and ultimately commits to elevating the communities we serve.

Based on our core values of YOU MATTER, TEAM MATTERS, SERVICE MATTERS, AHG launched AHG Cares, our philanthropic arm of the company. Through AHG Cares, we are able to hone our philanthropic efforts through various programs and collaborations with a positive community impact. To us, our “service” core value translates into more than just the guest in the restaurant, but the community overall. In addition to giving back to the hospitality industry itself, our main philanthropic initiatives center on education and youth services, and the community in our backyard. We support these efforts with restaurant menu features, restaurant internships and scholarships, a back-to-school program with community partners in the greater Seattle area, and an annual New Year's Eve night market for local makers and residents in Bellevue, Washington. 

Follow our socials to see what we are up to!

To submit a donation inquiry, please click here.

The Bellevue NYE Night Market

The Bellevue community rang in 2026 at the fourth annual Bellevue New Year’s Eve Night Market on Wednesday, December 31, welcoming thousands of attendees to Downtown Bellevue’s historic Old Main Street. From 3–9pm, guests explored more than 50 local craft, food, and beverage vendors, celebrating the creativity and energy of the Eastside while closing out the year together.

Presented by AHG Cares, the philanthropic arm of Ascend Hospitality Group, in partnership with Amazon, the market centered local artists, makers, and culture in the heart of downtown. Returning to Main Street with an expanded footprint, the 2025 event featured a diverse lineup of vendor partners including Cafecito Mexican Bakery, veteran-owned Chaztown Jerky, Koshay Teas, kid-owned Mae’s Dessert Heaven, and longtime local favorite Bis on Main, offering something for every age and interest.

Working alongside the City of Bellevue, Visit Bellevue, and event producer The Workshop, AHG Cares helped showcase a vibrant mix of art, goods, and experiences, including a lively drinks garden hosted by KidsQuest Children’s Museum with offerings from Browne Family Vineyards and Happy Camper Catering. The celebration was capped off by a high-energy performance from the Seattle Seahawks’ Blue Thunder Drumline, presented in partnership with Rainier Athletes, bringing movement, music, and community spirit straight down Main Street.

AHG Has Your Back

AHG Has Your Back is an annual back-to-school backpack program created by Ascend Hospitality Group. The program provides underserved children with a one-of-a-kind, custom-designed backpack experience for the back-to-school season. Each year, AHG collaborates with community partners to create an unforgettable program for students whom need it the most.

In 2025, AHG teamed up with Amazon and Amazon Fresh again to provide backpacks and school supplies to 800 local students in need! Attendees from five different nonprofits had an afternoon of fun at the “Summer of Soccer” themed parking lot party at the Amazon Fresh store in Bellevue for the annual back-to-school program.

Each of the 800 recipients took home a custom backpack and was given the opportunity to select their own school supplies, personalize their pack, play soccer-related games like giant Soccer Darts and challenge each other on mini pitches, meet the players of the Eastside’s new Midlakes United pre-professional club, dance to beats by DJ Justin Murta, enjoy snacks from Amazon Fresh, and savor a complimentary lunch from Stanford's Food Truck. 

We’re excited to throw an even bigger, better bash for kids in need in 2026!

31 Lives

The inaugural initiative for AHG Cares was 31 Lives, Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi’s program designed to fund scholarships and internships for aspiring culinarians, as well as, contribute professional expertise and tools (pro-bono) to elevate culinary education in the Puget Sound. 

Since launching on 5/31/18 at 5:31pm on the 31st floor of Lincoln South Tower, the 31 Lives program used proceeds from the first 31 reservations of Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi to kick-off funding for the program, and has evolved over the years to focus on providing opportunities for high school students and young adults in the restaurant industry. 

31 Lives interns learn the restaurant business from the inside out, from menu planning and prep work to understanding the operations, such as managing guest flow from front to back of house, supply chain communications, and more.

AHG Cares Community Cocktail

In the AHG Cares Community Cocktail program, AHG restaurants align with local nonprofit beneficiaries and create a specific cocktail to feature on the menu in which $1 from each sold is donated to that nonprofit.  

Dating back to 2020 with Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi, the Community Cocktail program is now a staple at all of our restaurants, with each store location giving back to a hyper-local, education-based nonprofit in their community.

Visit their websites to see which communities are being supported by the current cocktail:

ASCEND PRIME STEAK & SUSHI

STANFORD’S

AHG x Big Table

At Ascend Hospitality Group, feeding guests in our restaurants goes beyond nourishment — we strive to nourish and feed the community on a larger scale. Prior to the onset of COVID-19, AHG was a restaurant partner of Big Table, a nonprofit that cares for the restaurant and hospitality industry workers by building community and caring for those in crisis or transition, regularly donating to the organization that gives back to our own industry. When restaurants closed for service in the height of the pandemic, Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi donated all tips from to-go meals to Big Table, contributing over $20,000 to the cause.

AHG continues its partnership with Big Table, donating restaurant experiences for auctions to featuring cocktails on the menus in which proceeds go directly to the organization. Learn more about Big Table, its restaurant partners and the lives they are impacting in this moving video here.

Rainier Athletes’ PlayItForward: In the Sky

PlayItForward: In the Sky is Rainier Athletes’ inaugural celebration of community “PlayMakers,” local leaders who have paved the way to increase opportunity and connection for marginalized youth and their families.

A Bellevue-based nonprofit, Rainier Athletes believes that opportunity requires the right support in your corner. The organization has spent the last 10 years building a mentorship movement that expands access to opportunity, with long-term, one-on-one supportive relationships for youth that have been historically left out and underestimated.

Their mission is made possible by advocates like Ascend Hospitality Group and CEO/President Elaina M. Morris, which is why AHG has been selected as the 2022 Corporate PlayMaker!