MLK Day Recognized by the Brewhouse

Scotty sat at home Sunday night after putting the kids to bed. He flipped on one of his favorite programs, 60 Minutes, and became entrenched in a story about a school in Harlem. As it does many times a day, the light bulb went off in Scotty’s head – raise money for the Harlem Children’s Zone program.

The Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) is a program that serves families, with a focus on children, in Harlem, NY. HCZ provides the community with workshops, schooling, and health programs. And, it is funded all by private donations.

“They pay for performance.” Said Scotty Wise, owner of Scotty’s Brewhouse. “The newscaster tried to make it sound like a negative thing; but, he was answered with, ‘If I have a child with 100% perfect attendance and all A’s and B’s – do you think I care that it is financially driven?”

This rang some bells in the head of the entrepreneur and restauranteur, Scotty Wise. Bribery isn’t a bad thing if the results are so positive.

Scotty’s Brewhouse is going to help further this effort. On January 18, 2009, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, all Scotty’s Brewhouse locations will donate 10% of the day’s sales in food and drink to the Harlem’s Children Zone.

This fundraiser is one of the few that Scotty’s Brewhouse has supported that has not been locally based.

“Scott was touched so much by the special he watched that he just had to get involved,” said Amber Martin, Beverage and Promotions Director.

In 2009, Harlem Children’s Zone helped 17,896 people and 10,462 of those were youth.
It costs about $3,500 to serve one child, so the HCZ is always looking for ways to raise money in order to reach out to more of their community and beyond.

“The classroom sizes are smaller so the attention is greater for the child. There is more male leadership, which is needed. And, my favorite,” said Wise, “it is private funding, so there is no bureaucratic, government B.S. that public schools have to dance around.”

Recently, the Harlem Children’s Zone program spirit has gone national and is starting to be used in other poverty ridden areas in the U.S. including Philadelphia, Miami, and Chicago.

So celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. by helping those who are less fortunate than you just by coming in and eating good food. If you have a charity or cause you would like Scotty’s Brewhouse to get involved with please e-mail us at amartin@scottysbrewhouse.com. For more information about Scotty’s Brewhouse log on to www.scottysbrewhouse.com.