EASTWOOD – The morning after Mother’s Cupboard was broken into, one of its employees decided to lend some help by taking to a popular crowdfunding platform.
Ryan Poley-Baier, a part-time server at the diner, thought to start a GoFundMe page titled “Help Mother’s Cupboard stay open and safe” after learning of last week’s damage to his favorite eating establishment.
Upon Poley-Baier’s move to Syracuse from Buffalo almost seven years ago, he and his now-husband became regular customers at the eatery.
“It’s such a small place, so we got to know everybody well,” he said. “It holds a place in my heart like no other really.”
When the couple realized they needed more money for their wedding, Poley-Baier applied for a job at Mother’s Cupboard as a way to complement his teaching of Algebra II and personal finance at Hannibal High School.
Now, in response to the Jan. 17 burglary, he seeks to exceed his set fundraising goal of $4,500, an amount meant to cover the loss of business that day, repairs to the doors and windows, and the cost of a new video surveillance system.
Well on his way to achieving that goal, Poley-Baier called the financial contributions to the page “awesome.”
“It just shows that community goes a long way,” he said.
