SCRANTON, Pa. — While employees at Fratelli's Pizza and Pasta House in Scranton cook up pizzas, they're hoping customers choose to pile on the toppings. This week, the pizza shop is helping with a fundraiser called Toppings with Tate. Money raised from additional pizza toppings will go to Jack of Hearts-PA, a nonprofit that helps families of children with congenital heart disease. Co-owner Jeremy Morris says when the idea was presented to them, they couldn't say no.
"We're a family business. We've been here 29 years now, and we live to give to the community. The community does for us; we do for them. You want to help out, especially when that organization helped them out," said Morris.
The fundraiser is named for 18-month-old Tate Engles, who was born with a congenital heart disease that keeps oxygen-rich blood from getting to the body. Tate's parents, Katie and Dennis, wanted a way to give back to the organization that helped them.
"We just want everyone to realize this important community. It's a heart community that we never knew existed until it happened with Tate," said Katie Engles.
The Engles family decided to make this year's fundraiser "with" Tate to honor the memory of Bobby McGuire. Bobby had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and died before he was two years old.
"We saw Mrs. McGuire, and she said, 'I never had this when this was going on with Bobby. This wasn't around. I didn't have this support,'" Katie said.
Last year, the fundraiser raised enough money to help purchase a defibrillator for an area sports complex.
"We were able to give it to the Dunmore Missy League, where three of our cousins play. They were very excited to see Tate and Dennis and I up there giving this AED to them, and we definitely want to do it again," said Engles.
You can choose to dine in or take out pizza at Fratelli's now through Friday night.