Frantoni’s has turned getting pizza this weekend into an act of giving back.
The restaurant, which has locations in Williston Park, East Meadow, and Woodbury, is fundraising for Garden City resident and Air Force veteran Shawn Swift and his three-year-old son Hudson Swift, who is battling brain cancer.
Some 15% of all profits from dine-in, carry-out, and delivery orders between Feb. 17 to Feb. 23 from the three locations will go to the Swifts.
Swift said the funds will be used to pay for Hudson’s cancer treatment and other expenses such as childcare costs and general financial support.
Swift, who lost his wife in a car crash last year, said the community support he’s felt from the owners of Frantoni’s has been incredibly important to him.
He’s kept in touch with them since he worked at the restaurant as a high-schooler and said he considered them family.
“More than the money for me is just knowing that I have this community that won’t let me fall, despite the challenges that may come my way,” said Swift, who also lost both of his parents in recent years.
“I like to give back to the community and do the right thing for people,” Michael Mistretta, one of the owners of Frantoni’s, said. “He really could use the hand. It just makes it even better to be able to help.”
Frantoni’s is fundraising for the Swifts in conjunction with Slice of Charity, a Long Island-based non-profit that opened in September.
Slice of Charity is collecting donations for Hudson on its website and partnering with Cause and Cart, an online store that will donate a percentage of its profits over the next year to Slice of Charity’s fundraising.
Anthony Suppa, the founder of Slice of Charity, said the fundraiser was going well so far.
“A lot of people are not just coming in and looking to purchase food, but also writing checks and directly reaching out to Shawn,” Suppa said.
The fundraising efforts have raised over $4,000 for the Swifts to date.
“It’s inspiring just to watch him go through this process,” Swift said of Hudson, who he described as a sweet, affectionate dinosaur fanatic. “It really hasn’t broken his spirit at all.”
Swift said Hudson is responding well to treatment and is expected to finish towards the end of this year.
