Restaurant group La Vita has been praised for raising over £40,000 for the charity When You Wish Upon a Star in Scotland, in support of its mission to grant wishes for children aged 4-16 who live with life threatening illnesses.
During every Christmas party season, La Vita invites patrons of its award winning portfolio of restaurants to make a donation of 10p per person, which the business then matches before passing on to the charity.
At the end of March this year, the charity and their ambassador Amber Zoe were invited to La Vita’s Barrachnie Restaurant to be presented with its 2022 Festive campaign donation of £7614.40, which brought the group’s total Wish granting support to £40,066.80 since 2017.
In addition to its donation this year, the group staff team will be Walking for Wishes at the Glasgow Kiltwalk on Sunday 30th April, an extra effort which has raised a further £3500 to date.
The charity’s Scotland Regional Fundraiser, Judith King, said: “We have the wonderful honour of meeting Scotland’s most brave and deserving children and their families when they are going through the toughest of times. We have incredible Wishes in Scotland ready to be granted from meet & greets, Disney magic, Stranger Things and respite holidays.
“With La Vita’s support we can continue our mission of granting Wishes in Scotland. A Wish has the power to transform lives when our families might not have thought it could be possible. The effect of a child’s illness is felt both emotionally and financially, often one or both parents have to give up work.
“We are a vital source of support, and from these experiences strength is drawn, courage built and the resilience to carry on. A Wish allows illnesses to be put on hold, is an escapism from routines, supports rehabilitation, sensory needs and mental health for all the family.
“We can’t thank La Vita and their patrons enough for choosing to give the gift of memory making to our truly inspirational Wish children and their families and we proudly have them part of our Wish family in Scotland.”
Mario Arcari, of La Vita Restaurants, said: “Over the years that we have supported the charity, we have now exceeded the £40,000 mark for donations, which we are extremely proud of. We could not have done this without all our amazing customers and our staff. It means so much to us and the team at When You Wish Upon a Star.
“This is an amazing charity that does so much hard work to grant wishes to children with life threatening illnesses and we are honoured to have contributed and look forward to working closely with them further throughout the year to raise more.”
Charity Ambassador Amber Zoe, said: “This charity has a huge piece of my heart – the work they do is nothing short of incredible and I have personally seen the wonderful, lifelong memories your donations create for families who need that little bit of sunshine in their lives’ during tough times.
“To think that the wishes the charity grant for children suffering are all granted from a small office here in Scotland is really quite amazing. I am so in awe of each and every child I have had the privilege to meet and the amazing team at When You Wish Upon a Star Scotland – and donations like this one from La Vita really will make such a huge difference on families lives who otherwise face unimaginable circumstances. The charity are eternally grateful for the support.”
