An online Dallas fundraiser is simultaneously supporting area restaurants and feeding children in need.
It’s called ‘Kids Save Dallas Restaurants’ and it’s already raised over $60,000.
Dallas residents Alexis Smith and Alex Perry came up with the idea.
“We both have friends in the restaurant industry and we just wanted to give back to them,” said Smith.
One gesture great into another: helping feed the vulnerable.
“How do we feed kids who don’t have meals right now,” said Perry.
‘Kids Save Dallas Restaurants’ is raising money on a GoFundMe account.
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Smith and Perry are then using the funds to purchase gift cards at restaurants like Terry Black’s Barbeque in Deep Ellum and Feed Me Pronto in Victory Park.
The gift cards are then handed over to the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center.
The non-profit provides several services to children who’ve suffered abuse.
The agency works with police and CPS to interview children, provide support during court cases, offering therapy sessions and even feeds children and their families.
DCAC served over 7,300 children and their families last year and continue to receive new cases today.
“Even though to the community they may be ‘Jane Doe’ or ‘John Doe’ to know that they have the support is huge,” said Sarah Burns with DCAC. “We do serve dinner every evening to families coming in for therapy or group therapy and so we’ll continue to use those gift cards at that time to further provide meals for our families.”
The center’s kids will receive the cards to then redeem at participating restaurants.
“That translates to multiple jobs,” said Shane Spillers, owner of three Enos Pizza Tavern locations.
An estimated $1,200 worth of gift cards were purchased at Spillers’ Bishop Arts location.
“It’s encouraging and honestly every little bit does help,” he said.
The goal of the GoFundMe is to raise $100,000.
However, in order to begin helping participating restaurants and get the gift cards into the hands of children immediately, Perry opted to front some of the money himself.
Perry says it’s important to think ‘outside the box’ in order to help others during this time of need.
“Instead of saying I have so much free time let me catch up on shows or new shows, it’s how do I use my free time to better someone else in any field out there. It doesn’t have to be a restaurant, it can be anything,” he said.
He says average donations have been around $350.
“It just shows what small acts of kindness can make a large impact when you pull all of them together,” said Burns.
Dallas company Poo-Pourri announced Thursday it will donate 10% of online sales of its new antibacterial hand sanitizer to ‘Kids Save Dallas Restaurants.’
Restaurants who benefit from Kids Save Dallas Restaurants include Spring Creek BBQ, Norma’s Café, Feed Me Pronto, Terry Black’s Barbecue, Eno’s Pizza Tavern, Whisk Crepes Café, Easy Slider, Original ChopShop, Ferris Wheelers, Stoneleigh P, Campisi’s Restaurants, Mia’s Tex Mex, Jose, The Charles and more to come, according to Perry and Smith.
