How A Pasta Dish Turned Into $2,000 Boost For Milwaukee Fire Families
Glorioso’s and Fire Department partner again to support Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee nonprofit.
Fire captain Joe Flick and Glorioso’s co-owner Carmine Presta. Photo courtesy Milwaukee Fire Department.
What happens when a local business and public safety professionals team up?
Glorioso’s Italian Market and the Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) just proved that such a partnership can benefit all parties involved and then some.
On Tuesday, Glorioso’s donated $2,000 to Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee, a local nonprofit that provides emotional and financial support to Milwaukee firefighters and their families. The donation is the result of an Oct. 21-27 fundraiser hosted by Glorioso’s and the MFD, during which the market pledged to donate 100% of the proceeds from a limited-edition meal to the nonprofit.
The meal, chicken tortellini, was created by Glorioso’s Chef Tony and MFD’s Joe Schauer. Customers purchased it 170 times, generating $1,700. Glorioso’s donated an additional $300 to bump the donation up to $2,000.
“Because the fire department and this community mean absolutely everything to us, we didn’t want to just donate a percentage,” Carmine Presta, co-owner of Glorioso’s, said in an October media release. “We decided to give 100% of the proceeds from this dish straight to the Ignite the Spirit Fund Milwaukee to say thank you.”
Presta and members of Glorioso’s team visited Milwaukee Fire Station 28, where Schauer is the lead cook, on Tuesday to formally present the donation to Joe Flick, MFD fire captain and president of Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee.
This is the second year Glorioso’s and the MFD have collaborated.
“The MFD is grateful to Glorioso’s Italian Market for its continued partnership, generosity, and commitment,” a media release from the City of Milwaukee reads.
Learn more about Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee on its website.
Existing members must be signed in to see the interactive map. Sign in.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
