Community goodwill sometimes outlasts instant gratification--and profit. Or at least that’s the viewpoint of one Cupertino restaurant.

Arya Global Cuisine Restaurant agreed at the last minute to fill in for a community fundraiser despite a lack of profit in hosting the event in the past.

A three-course meal plus coffee, tea or soft drinks normally costs $39 per person at Arya Restaurant, 19930 Stevens Creek Blvd., phone number 408-996-9606. But it will be $24 with an advance purchase ticket, or $26 at door, Monday and Tuesday, Jan 24 and 25.

This is Arya Restaurant's second time hosting Taste of Compassion, a dining program that puts on a two-day event every month and donates half of its proceeds to charity programs of the West Valley Community Services. Taste of Compassion first launched in July 2010.  It has since inspired a following of 100 to 160 people who regularly attend the monthly events--that skipped last December for the holiday season--according to Jacqueline de Guzman of the West Valley Community Services.

Arya Restaurant was among one of the first restaurants that signed up to host Taste of Compassion, and it held the event there in 2010.

Taste of Compassion is intended to rotate among as many restaurants in the service area of the West Valley Community Services, no one expected it to come back to Arya so soon. However, the restaurant that initially promised to host the January event backed out at the last minute.

The West Valley Community Services staff asked Arya Restaurant owners Mike and Fera Hashemi to fill in. They agreed right away.

According to Fera, Arya Restaurant only came close to breaking even for hosting the last Taste of Compassion event, but she is more than willing to do it again this time, and again in the future.

"Helping the community is bigger than making a profit," says Fera. "Of course doing this is also good for our marketing. Restaurant business is a lot about word of mouth."

Fera adds that Arya is a family-owned restaurant with a strong sense of community involvement. She says she and her husband Mike, also executive chef of the restaurant, have three children, so they always keep children's health in mind and serve healthful dishes.

The three-course meal Arya will serve at the upcoming Taste of Compassion event will start with a house salad and offers the following options for the entree: boneless chicken kebab with basmati rice; pasta primavera; adas polo with chicken; Gheimeh Bademjoon (beef and eggplant cooked in tomato sauce); Fesenjoon (chicken with walnut pomegranate sauce); curry stew, either chicken in spicy curry with basmati or vegetarian. The last course is a chocolate duet for dessert.

Fera says she hopes this event will bring in a good amount of funding for the programs of the West Valley Community Services, which provides family services, housing assistance and help for those with basic needs in Cupertino as well as other West Valley communities such as Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Los Gatos, West San Jose and the unincorporated mountain area.

For Taste of Compassion tickets, call 408-255-8033, ext. 152 or visit www.tasteofcompassion.org.