StreetSmartUSA™ and Bay Area Restaurants Kick-Off
Innovative Program To Help At-Risk and Homeless Youth
Optional two-dollar charge added to each bill supports local charities.
San Francisco, August 30, 2003 – Today StreetSmartUSA and dozens of Bay Area restaurateurs announce their new and creative partnership to help raise money for San Francisco’s at-risk and homeless youth. To participate, restaurants simply give their patrons the option of making a two–dollar donation when they receive their bill. Depending on the restaurant, the program will be introduced to patrons either with informational inserts that accompany the bill or with small tent cards on the tables. One hundred percent of the proceeds go directly to support the Larkin Street Youth Services TASK program for homeless adolescents and the Huckleberry Youth Program’s project for young girls who are victims of violence.
The StreetSmartUSA program will be proudly introduced in September of 2003 at leading San Francisco restaurants including Albona, Ana Mandara, Aux Delices, Balboa Cafe, Big Four, Bizou, Cafe Pescatore, Cafe Tiramisu, East Coast West Delicatessen, Ella’s, E&O Trading Company, Firefly, Fleur de Lys, Foley’s Irish House, Galette, Garibaldis, Gaylord, Grand Cafe, Home, Hukilau, Hyde Street Bistro, Isa, La Folie, La Table, La Tasca, Le Petit Robert, L’Olivier, Magic Flute, Max’s, Merenda, Millenium, Nob Hill Cafe, North Beach Restaurant, 1751 Social Club, One Market, Ozumo, Pacific, Palio D’Asti, Palomino, PlumpJack Cafe, Puccini & Pinetti, Rose Pistola, Rose’s Cafe, Rubicon, Shanghai 1930, The Slanted Door, Sociale, Straits Café, Tarantino’s, The Mandarin, Venticello Ristorante, Vivande Porta Via, and XYZ. New restaurants are joining the list every day. Restaurant patrons can check the StreetSmartUSA website at www.streetsmartusa.org for a complete listing.
Among the many dozens of San Francisco restaurants that have joined the program is the renowned five–star Fleur de Lys. “We are very excited to be a part of StreetSmart”, says Maurice Rouas, owner of Fleur de Lys’.” San Francisco is our home, and we want to do what we can to help our city’s kids. The program is voluntary for guests, and we believe a lot of people at a lot of restaurants will be happy to give. Together we can make a big difference.”
“Using this simple idea, the restaurants in the United Kingdom raised nearly $500,000 last year. Eventually, we hope to do the same. The money we raise will be used to help fund programs that serve as models nationwide, yet are threatened by State budget deficits.” says Lorrie Greene, president of StreetSmartUSA. ” The two month program will run from September 15th to November 15th this year.”
Frequent restaurant-goer Dana Newman agrees. “I think it’s a great idea”, she says. “What’s an extra two dollars to do something good when we are already paying for a night out? Not only does giving make me feel good, but having the opportunity to opt–in to a donation after dining would also make me feel great about the restaurant. There are a lot of choices of where to eat in San Francisco, and if a restaurant helps raise money through a program like StreetSmart, I would rather give them my business any day.”
StreetSmartUSA is a San Francisco–based non profit founded by a local dentist and his wife. Traveling in England after their retirement in 2002, the couple noticed some of London’s most prestigious restaurants participating in a program that involved adding a small voluntary charge to each patron’s bill to support local charities that aid the homeless. The couple has been working closely with community-minded San Francisco restaurants ever since to bring this innovative idea to the Bay Area and raise money for charities whose focus is helping the city’s at–risk and homeless youth.
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