CAZENOVIA — Pewter Spoon Café and Eatery in Cazenovia is planning a weekend fundraiser to benefit Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international, independent medical humanitarian organization that cares for people affected by conflict, disease outbreaks, natural and human-made disasters, and exclusion from health care in more than 70 countries.
Located at 87 Albany Street, Pewter Spoon is owned by Pat Carmeli and managed by her daughters Ava and Dana.
The weekend fundraiser will begin with a “late-night” kickoff event on Friday, March 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. and will run all day Saturday, March 4, and Sunday, March 5.
“On Friday, our kitchen will be open later hours (6 to 8 p.m.) and we will host Francie, our ‘joe’y’ coffee alternative sales representative, who will provide a free joe’y tasting during those hours as well,” said Dana. “For customers who enjoy their tasting and decide to buy a joe’y beverage from the barista on Friday [night], we will be donating 20 percent of those sales to [MSF].”
According to Dana, 15 percent of all other sales made during the kick-off event and throughout the weekend will also be donated.
The Carmeli family decided to support MSF after hearing the news about the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria and feeling compelled to help in some way.
“We know the small but mighty community we’ve built through the Pewter Spoon would be a great resource to tap into and help raise funds during a time of crisis,” said Dana. “The magnitude of the loss in Turkey and Syria is just unimaginable, with death tolls growing higher each day. The newest earthquake that hit on Feb. 20 just made a difficult situation that much worse. The recovery for those regions will be long and arduous, but medical care for its victims is needed immediately. MSF is a highly reputable organization [that] provides tangible medical care to victims of natural disasters and war all over the world. Because they’re a nongovernmental organization, they can provide relief to regions incredibly fast, without all the barriers sometimes left by bureaucracy. For example, MSF was especially quick to respond in northwest Syria because they already had an active presence in the region.”
Pewter Spoon held its first weekend fundraiser several years ago. Since then, they have raised money for multiple organizations, including UNICEF, the International Rescue Committee, and Campaign Zero, a project of the non-profit organization WeTheProtesters.
The café’s most recent and most successful weekend fundraiser was held in February 2022 to support MSF.
“We raised $571 that weekend, so our goal this year is to raise $600,” said Dana. “As usual, we will have a pot on the counter for customers to add any personal donations. Those will be collected and donated on Monday along with the business’s donation.”
To learn more about Pewter Spoon Café and Eatery, visit pewterspooncafe.com.
Learn more about Médecins Sans Frontières at doctorswithoutborders.org.
