SARASOTA -- The first "Giving Hunger the Blues" fundraiser, held a dozen years ago, was small enough to fit inside the 5 O'Clock Club. "That first day I opened the door, I didn't think anybody would show up," Generoso said. As could be seen Sunday, the Southside Village event has grown considerably, from a humble fundraiser that netted about $1,000 to a full-blown street and music fair that brings more than 5,000 visitors to Hillview Street.
This year, Generoso expects to raise $90,000 from the $5 admission and money collected by dozens of Sarasota restaurants that donated wings, pizza slices and smoked turkey legs. The proceeds will be divided between Sarasota's All Faiths Food Bank, which receives 70 percent, and the Child Protection Center Inc. of Sarasota, which gets 30 percent.
Last year, the event raised about $60,000 for All Faiths, which translates into 30,000 meals. The food bank uses the money to pay for its Kid Cafe program. Each day, the after-school program provides meals to 850 youngsters at 11 sites around Sarasota County, said executive director Daniel Dunn.
"It's for kids that go home and don't have a good meal," Dunn said. The Child Protection Center uses its share -- $15,000 last year -- to fund, among other programs, child-abuse prevention classes held at schools throughout the county. About 30,000 Sarasota students will take one of the center's classes, which teach students how to be aware of both physical and sexual abuse and how to prevent bullying and abductions.
On Sunday, Generoso said that his late mother, who helped feed families in his New Haven, Conn., hometown, was the inspiration for the fundraiser. Even though his family was poor, Generoso said his mother always made sure others didn't go hungry.
"My mother would always have a casserole for the neighbor that was out of work, and I was the delivery boy," Generoso said during a quick break from the noon-to-8 p.m. fundraiser.
"It's kind of a little memorial to her." Last modified: April 02. 2007 4:11AM
SARASOTA -- The first 'Giving Hunger the Blues' fundraiser, held a dozen years ago, was small enough to fit inside the 5 O'Clock Club.
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