A casual-dining restaurant corporation invested in local efforts, TGI Fridays Manahawkin will be sponsoring a number of community events throughout the month.
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| Photo by Jack Reynolds Partnerships between the Red Cross and other local organizations help the nonprofit 'survive.' |
A Pancake Breakfast benefit to help David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation raise funds for community members in need will take place at the restaurant on Sunday, March 15, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Throughout the morning, the nonprofit group’s Generation Dream youth team will be helping Fridays staff with various jobs, including hostessing, food prepping and serving. Breakfast includes pancakes, sausage, bacon, coffee and soft drinks.
“It’s our first event of the year, and we’re excited to kick it off with Generation Dream and our friends at TGI Fridays Manahawkin,” David Caldarella, a local resident and founder of David’s Dream and Believe, said in an email.
Admission to the event costs $10. Sixty percent of all proceeds will go directly to DDBCF.
In honor of American Red Cross Month, which has been celebrated every March since 1943, the restaurant will also be raising funds throughout the month for the American Red Cross South Jersey Region, which supports Ocean County and eight other counties in the area.
Customers who donate at least $5 at the restaurant or its sister locations in Bricktown, Toms River or Turnersville will receive a $5 off $15 Fridays coupon. Individuals who participate at the Fridays Manahawkin restaurant-sponsored blood drive at the Beach Haven Moose Lodge in Manahawkin on Friday, March 27, between 2 and 7 p.m. will also receive a coupon.
Instead of hosting the blood drive on a bus at the restaurant, management decided to hold it at the lodge, where more people can participate.
“Basically we’re just trying to get as many people out to donate as we can,” said Taylor Martin, a Fridays Manahawkin employee helping to coordinate the event, who is also a nursing student at Ocean County College.
Donors who also submit their phone number will be entered to win a gift basket full of Red Cross items, including a crank radio, blankets and other goodies.
Because Fridays Manahawkin Manager Christine Greenwood has never led a fundraising effort “of this magnitude,” she said, she does not have a specific dollar amount she expects to raise. However, she said she hopes to raise a significant amount.
“We’ve done things for school districts; we’ve done things where we’ve raised $100 or $200 (in a weekend or three days). My hopes are way more higher than that for this organization,” she stated.
After seeing how instrumental the Red Cross has been in helping people affected by Superstorm Sandy, Greenwood said it has been her goal to give back to the organization. She expects to continue to do so by making this an annual event.
“Every time I see something, the Red Cross is there,” she said. “We like to help people. We always help the little school districts and the organizations at the school. I just felt like, with Fridays being a big name, that we should do something bigger; we really should help something a little bit more,” she added.
Of course, the restaurant’s participation “isn’t just about dollars,” said Laura Steinmetz, communications/government relations officer for the Red Cross South Jersey Region. “It’s about raising awareness and educating the public about Red Cross and the wonderful community partner you are becoming,” she added.
Kim Price, major gift officer for the American Red Cross Jersey Coast Chapter, said it is these types of connections that help the Red Cross stick around.
“It’s wonderful for them to actually reach out to us. Fridays especially, this group is so community-driven, and we can work together,” she said. “That’s how we survive, honestly – from this type of partnership. So it’s been very, very helpful. The fact that it just fell into place when it was ‘March is Red Cross Month’ makes it that much better.”
To sign up for the blood drive, visit redcrossblood.org.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
This article was published in The SandPaper.
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