Helping Military Veterans & Pets in Need: Summer 2015

We successfully raised nearly $2,000 for Charity this past summer!

Pets for Vets Charity at American Pride Car Show 2015

Every Summer in Schaumburg, Illinois, Frato’s Pizza & Catering’s helps host a Car & Bike Night once a week with an end of the season Car & Bike show. Over the past two years, the theme of our event has been American Pride (www.Facebook.com/AmericanPrideChicago), a theme meaningful to many of us which we feel has, unfortunately, lost prevalence over the years.

American Pride can be defined differently based on the situation at hand, but for this event, American Pride is about working together as a community to help others.  It’s about giving and is a core belief of Frato’s Pizza & Catering, despite only being a small family-owned business, as you can read about our Community Responsibility Beliefs by clicking here. The main reason for these summer events is joining together as a community, meeting new well-intentioned individuals/families who are all coming together to help a great cause. With the help and leadership from Schaumburg’s favorite Lone Wolves Car Club, we’ve been able to put together a community event to be proud of in the town of Schaumburg, Illinois.

Some of the Cars at American Pride Car Show 2015

Our specific American Pride events are based on helping wounded military troops as many of them do not receive the help they truly need for sacrificing themselves to keep us safe. This year, we worked with Pets for Vets national 501c3 Charity. One reason we chose to work with Pets for Vets is because the majority of every dollar actually goes towards benefitting the troops whereas many other charities have so many expenses that only a portion of every dollar raised actually goes to benefit the cause.

Taken from a National Journal Article from April 2014, “Although national tracking of veteran suicide rates is unreliable at best, the VA estimates that 22 veterans commit suicide each day. This means approximately 8,030 veterans kill themselves every year, more than 5,540 of whom are 50 or older.”  Further studies indicate those might be very conservative numbers too.

Families enjoying the American Pride Car Show after our Bags Tournament

Based on our research, many times just companionship is enough to help someone with PTSD or other forms of depression. Pets for Vets not only tries to help solve the problem of depression among our returning military heroes, but also the high amount of euthanized animals every year. By adopting a dog or cat, caring for the animal, training the animal and then matching them with a military veteran in need, they help solve both the problem of depression (which leads to a high rate of suicide) and unwanted animals on their pathway towards being euthanized. This makes Pets for Vets a great partner for our American Pride events.

Models Tia Pratcher, Berylanne of B-Anne Productions, Jacqueline Silver & Holly Rose of Heels for Combat Boots having fun during the Trophy Ceremony

With the help of volunteers such as Veteran Beer Company out of Chicago, Croft Gate Products, Chicago Beardsman Suburban Chapter, models Jacqueline Silver & Holly Rose of Heels for Combat Boots, model Berylanne of B-Anne Productions, model Tia Pratcher, DJ RamJams, Marksound Mobile, Lee Auto Parts, Andres J. DeLeon of NEEDGRAPHICS.com & the Frato’s Pizza staff, we raised nearly $2,000 to rescue a dog from a High-Kill Shelter and match that newly trained dog with a Military Veteran in need!

Every year we continue to get the word out and these events continue to grow as word spreads. As we continue to grow, we can continue to raise more funds and help more great causes. Thanks to everyone who dedicated their valuable time and effort to make these events successful. We can’t wait to see what we can accomplish in 2016!

Group picture of some of our volunteers and car show winners