Next month, there are at least two opportunities to get your grub on while doing a little good for the community.
Between Sept. 1 and 30, diners can support local nonprofits by eating lunch or dinner at any of the Columbia Restaurant's four Tampa Bay locations (five if you feel like driving to Sarasota). As part of the 20th Annual Columbia Restaurant Community Harvest, the longtime program donates 5 percent of every bill to organizations chosen by Columbia customers, who designate their charity of choice with a check mark on the form that's provided to them.
Nonprofits around the Sunshine State have received more than $2 million from the Columbia Restaurant Community Harvest since its inception. A full list of participating groups — and, boy, are there many — is available online.
"We started this program in 1998 as a way to help many of the worthy nonprofit groups that are so important to our communities," said president Richard Gonzmart in a statement. "We thought the best way to do this was by letting our customers get involved in selecting the organizations."
An upcoming fish fry fundraiser also aims to help another local in need. Open to the public from 4 to 10 p.m. Sept. 2, the benefit event is hosted by St. Mark's Episcopal Church and the Barbados Association of Tampa Bay in honor of Anthony Grant, a former warehouse manager and the breadwinner of his household who had to quit his job after being diagnosed with Stage 5 renal failure.
Donations at the door — and refreshments available for purchase during the fundraiser, held at St. Mark's in Tampa — will help with the cost of Grant's kidney transplant, alongside follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications.
"I know this is a difficult time for Anthony," said Samantha Palazolo, fundraising consultant at the National Foundation for Transplants. "But he's got a wonderful support system around him. I believe this event will be wonderful, and at NFT, we want nothing more than to help him raise the funds he needs to afford his lifesaving treatment and care."
Tropical fish dishes prepared with complimentary sides and salads are on the menu, and Zuberi Sound Systems provides the evening's musical entertainment. Those interested in making a donation online can click "Find an NFT Patient" to locate Grant.
This article appears in Aug 24-31, 2017.
