Nice, Nice, Baby: Bronx House Pizza, Vanilla Ice raised $84,000 for Little Smiles charity

Little Smiles will be donating the funds to Halifax Health's pediatric unit. Bronx House made almost $50,000 in sales at the Feb. 25 event, and the remaining funds raised were from donations.

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Bronx House Pizza's Hammock location on State Road A1A raised $84,000 for the Little Smiles charity in just one day.

Bronx House partnered with musician and rapper Robert Van Winkle, known professionally as Vanilla Ice, to promote the event. The restaurant made almost $50,000 in sales at the Feb. 25 event and donated 100% of it to Little Smiles. The remaining funds were raised through donations.

Little Smiles will be donating the funds to Halifax Health Medical Center's pediatric unit. Bronx House partner Brad Beam said Little Smiles had already purchased multiple bins of books and toys for the children at Halifax.

Fundraising for charity is a core value at Bronx House, Bronx House co-founder Bruno DiFabio said. The restaurant chain hosts monthly charity fundraising events and regularly works with multiple local charities to give back to the community.

This time, DiFabio said, they decided to commit 100% of their Hammock location's sales on Feb. 25 to Little Smiles.

"That's unheard of in Flagler County," he said. "I don't think anybody has had the nerve to or has really put their money where their mouth is to donate 100% of sales."

DiFabio said during tough times, people don't often think about charitable donations. Everybody is hurting, he said.

"We want to kind of lead by example, and not a cop out like oh, a 10% of this or that," DiFabio said. "We wanted it to hurt 100%."

Co-founder Michael Bennici said even their employees across the different stores were jumping to come help out during the event. And while the team knew to expect a big crowd, Bennici said Hammock location had filled over 1,000 tickets by 4:30 p.m.

"I'm blown away by the, you know, the show of support from the community," he said.

So many people showed up, Beam said, that Bronx House actually opened at 11 a.m., instead of 12 p.m. to start serving food. By the end of the day, Beam said over text, the restaurant had 1,900 ticket sales.

DiFabio said he and his partners have decided to make the charity event an annual fundraiser where it donates its sales for one day. 

"It's got to hurt," DiFabio said. "And we hope that we hope in turn that [others] will follow in our footsteps."

In anticipation for the charity event, Bronx House set up a beer garden outside with a DJ. Van Winkle was in and out during the event, but showed up at 4:30 to sign autographs alongside a social media influencer called "The Greatness," known for helping those in need by handing out cash.

Later on, Van Winkle performed in the beer garden, bringing two of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on stage with him.

While Van Winkle signed autographs, the Little Smiles team brought up Jacob Hilliker, 18, to meet Van Winkle. Jacob has duchenne muscular dystrophy, a hereditary and terminal neuromuscular condition.

In November, Tom Hilliker, Jacob's father, said Jacob went into pulmonary arrest twice and needed a permanent tracheostomy.

This is the family's first trip since the hospitalization, Hilliker said, and getting to meet Van Winkle was amazing for Jacob, who loves the celebrity's music and shows.

"[Jacob] he just absolutely adores what he does and big fan," he said said. "...How many times in a lifetime are you going to meet your idol? And for Jake, Ice is one of his favorites."

Hilliker said they called Bronx House after seeing Van Winkle's TikTok promoting the event, hoping to arrange a meet up for Jacob. Bronx House connected them to Van Winkle and Little Smiles, which arranged for the family to come down to Palm Coast for the event, including paying for their stay. 

Hilliker said none of them had the slightest idea Little Smiles would also offer to pay for two days at a Disney, with a resort stay. The Greatness also gave Jacob $1,500 to spend at Disney, too, Hilliker said.

"It's been an episode that we didn't expect and kind of just coming out from nowhere," Hilliker said. "So, you know, it is a dream vacation."

Little Smiles senior manager Luke Lostroscio said Little Smiles works with local businesses and community events to fundraise. The organization focuses on bringing smiles to children facing tough times, from hospital stays to those in abuse shelters.

It was last minute organizing it all, Lostroscio said, but this is what Little Smiles does.

"That's our specialty is right there," he said. "It's working with the kids, working with the families to create those smiles anyway we can."

 

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