41 restaurants to participate in Do Good with Food fundraiser for Children’s Wisconsin

On Aug. 22, 41 Milwaukee-area restaurants and bars will participate in Do Good with Food , a fundraiser that supports the Children’s Wisconsin health care system. And you can help, too, by dining or drinking at any one of them.

Now in its fifth year, the fundraiser began after local restaurant owners turned to the hospital to save the life of their newborn child.

In August 2013, Gino and Leanne Fazzari, owners of Milwaukee’s Calderone Club , 842 N. King Drive, and San Giorgio Pizzeria Napoletana , 838 N. King Drive, noticed something was wrong with their newborn, Vivianna. She was losing her color and was noticeably lethargic. The couple rushed her to Children’s Wisconsin hospital, where, upon arrival, she stopped breathing 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.

“If it had not been for the quick thinking and highly skilled team working that day, our daughter would not be here with us,” Leanne said in a statement. “Few emergency departments can — without notice, time to prepare or proper diagnosis — save a fully coded newborn.”

The Fazzaris haven’t forgotten about those who saved their daughter’s life, and in 2019, along with the Milwaukee Kitchen Cabinet , founded Do Good with Food, which supports Children’s Wisconsin’s NICU, emergency department and Nourishing Partners Program, which connects families to Children’s resources and community partnerships for access to nutritious food.

Since 2019, Do Good with Food has raised over $134,000 for the Children’s Wisconsin health care 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. “Every day kids like Vivianna are cared for by Children’s Wisconsin, and we could not continue the top-tier care for which we are known if not for the amazing support of the community like Do Good with Food provides.”

How to support the Do Good with Food fundraiser

On Aug. 22, 41 Milwaukee-area restaurants will donate a portion of their food and beverage sales to the fundraiser. To support, simply dine or drink at any of these 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)
• Carnevor
• Centraal Grand Cafe & Tappery
• Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen
• The City Market (Shorewood and Wauwatosa)
• District Fore
• The Edison
• Harbor House
• Joey Gerard’s – A Bartolotta Supper Club
• Major Goolsby’s
• Mr. B’s – A Bartolotta Steakhouse (Brookfield and Mequon)
• The New Fashioned
• Nine Below
• North South Club
• Oak Barrel Public House
• Ristorante Bartolotta dal 1993
• Saz’s State House
• Steny’s Tavern (Walker’s Point and Pewaukee)
• Sweet Diner
• Third Street Tavern
• Timmer’s Resort
• Vagabond
• Ward’s House of Prime
• Water Street Brewery (Grafton, Lake Country and Oak Creek)
• Who’s on Third
• Who’s on Layton

If you can’t make it to the above restaurants on Aug. 22 but still want to support the cause, visit childrenswi.org/food to learn more and donate directly.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 41 restaurants to participate in Do Good with Food fundraiser for Children’s Wisconsin