Burbank pizza business hosts fundraiser for Burbank Unified schools
A new pizza restaurant in Burbank helped raise more than $4,000 for four elementary schools in and around Burbank.
On Sunday, Fresh Brothers held a “Pay What You Want” fundraiser at its newest location at 4005 W Riverside Drive, where $4,620 was raised and will be distributed to Stevenson and Roosevelt elementary schools in the Burbank Unified School District and Rio Vista Elementary and Toluca Lake elementary schools in Los Angeles Unified.
Customers who visited and purchased a meal at the pizzeria were able to pay the suggested price or round up their tab. After paying for their food, patrons placed their receipts in a bowl that corresponded with one of the elementary schools.
The business then tallied all of the receipts to determine how much money raised goes to each school, with 100% of the money spent by customers going to their selected schools.
Adam Goldberg, founder and chief executive of Fresh Brothers, said it has been a mission for his business to always try to give back to the communities where the company’s restaurants are located. So far, his business has helped raise more than $40,000 for schools and organizations.
“We really enjoy doing it,” Goldberg said. “If we give back to the community, whether it’s a local school, a Little League or AYSO team, those families recognize that and they give back to us. It forms a cultural bond with the Fresh Brothers brand.”
Goldberg added that he understands that the state can only do so much to help fund educational programs at schools and that it is important for businesses to help support their respective communities.
“Those of us, as business owners, need to play our part to take care of our schools,” he said.
Roosevelt Elementary ended up receiving more than$750, which will help pay for arts and academic-enrichment programs, its music program and auditorium renovations, said Alisa Sabshin, vice president of fundraising for the Roosevelt Elementary Boosters Club.
“We’re all about working with the community,” she said. “The parents, the community and everybody in Burbank is so generous with our schools and Fresh Brothers is a great addition to that.”
About $1,000 was raised for Stevenson Elementary, which will go toward paying for field trips, its Kindness Committee, athletic programs and assemblies, said Estrella Penney, president of the school’s PTA.
Penney said that she has never seen a business host a fundraiser like this and was happy that a new business like Fresh Brothers was willing to immediately give back to the community.
“It’s an extremely generous thing for them to offer,” she said.
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
