On August 22, 41 restaurants and bars in the greater Milwaukee area will participate in “Do Good with Food,” a fundraiser to benefit Children’s Wisconsin Health System. And you can help too by eating or drinking at one of the restaurants.
The fundraiser, now in its fifth year, began after local restaurant owners contacted the hospital to save the life of their newborn child.
In August 2013, Gino and Leanne Fazzari, owners of the Calderone Club, 842 N. King Drive, and San Giorgio Pizzeria Napoletana, 838 N. King Drive, in Milwaukee, noticed something was wrong with their newborn Vivianna. She was losing color and was visibly lethargic. The couple took her to Children’s Wisconsin Hospital, where she stopped breathing upon arrival and was immediately placed on a ventilator and admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit.
That night, the Fazzaris were told to prepare for the worst. But after a 27-day stay in the NICU, Vivianna survived and is now a thriving 11-year-old girl.
“Without the quick thinking and highly skilled team that worked that day, our daughter would not be here with us,” Leanne said in a statement. “Few emergency departments can – without warning, time to prepare or proper diagnosis – save a fully diagnosed newborn.”
The Fazzaris have not forgotten those who saved their daughter’s life, and in 2019, they partnered with the Milwaukee Kitchen Cabinet to form Do Good with Food, an organization that supports Children’s Wisconsin’s neonatal intensive care unit, emergency department and Nourishing Partners Program, which connects families with child resources and community partnerships for access to nutritious food.
Since 2019, Do Good with Food has raised over $134,000 for Children’s Wisconsin Health System.
“We are incredibly grateful for the continued support of the Fazzari family and all of the participating restaurants,” said Christine Baranoucky, vice president of engagement and stewardship for the Children’s Wisconsin Foundation. “Children like Vivianna are served every day by Children’s Wisconsin, and we could not maintain the world-class care we are known for if it weren’t for the amazing community support that Do Good with Food provides.”
How to support the “Do Good with Food” fundraiser
On August 22, 41 restaurants in the greater Milwaukee area will donate a portion of their food and beverage sales to the fundraiser. To support, simply eat or drink at one of these greater Milwaukee-area establishments:
- Calderone Club (downtown)
- San Giorgio Pizzeria Napoletana
- 600 East Cafe
- Amped
- Axe MKE
- Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro
- Bacchus – A Bartolotta Restaurant
- Bobby’s Bar
- The Bridgewater
- Buckabaton Tavern and Supper Club
- Calderone Club (Fox Point)
- butcher
- Centraal Grand Café & Tappery
- Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen
- The City Market (Shorewood and Wauwatosa)
- District Vorder
- The Edison
- Harbour House
- Joey Gerard’s – A Bartolotta Supper Club
- Major Goolsby’s
- Mr. B’s – A Bartolotta Steakhouse (Brookfield and Mequon)
- The New Fashion
- Nine among us
- North-South Club
- Located in a quiet area, Oak Barrel offers an outdoor pool and a bar.
- Ristorante Bartolotta since 1993
- Saz’ State House – Wikipedia
- Steny’s Tavern (Walker’s Point and Pewaukee)
- Sweet dinner
- Third Street Tavern
- Timmermans Resort
- rover
- Ward’s House by Prime
- Water Street Brewery (Grafton, Lake Country and Oak Creek)
- Who is in third place
- Who is on Layton
If you can’t make it to the restaurants listed above on August 22nd but still want to support the cause, visit childrenswi.org/food to learn more and donate directly.
