LAWTON – Several members of the Lawton Council of the Blind met Wednesday at Cabo Taco where they were presented a check from a recent fundraiser held by two local restaurants.
During Super Bowl weekend, two eateries located on Lawton’s west side raised money for the visually impaired. This was the third time Cabo Taco and No Name Pizza had partnered with the Council of the Blind.
On behalf of the council, President Kay Love expressed gratitude to restaurateurs Sean and Jennifer Fortenbaugh, as well as the staff and customers who chose the popular restaurants during the fundraising event.
The Fortenbaughs’ restaurants donated 15% of Super Bowl weekend sales to Lawton Council of the Blind, totaling $1,921.95.
Fundraising co-chair Debbie Hendrickx echoed Love’s appreciation saying, “A big thank you goes to Jennifer and Sean Fortenbaugh for all the work that they do, and to their staff for their support. We’d also like to thank Lawton and the surrounding communities for always supporting us.”
With the pandemic still presenting a challenge to members of the council, other than the luncheon held during the fundraiser, Hendrickx and Love agreed that this was the largest gathering of members in recent months. Members have been meeting virtually in the interest of protecting one another’s health. She added that they plan to form a committee to al- locate the funds where they can be most useful.
Anticipating plans for another event in the fall, Love stated, “we’re just so pleased that the community is so receptive, and we hope to do it again.”
In a Wednesday afternoon phone interview with Southwest Ledger, Rocco Bonacci, Lawton Council of the Blind’s other co-chair of fundraising, stated, “with the money raised from the No Name Pizza and Cabo Taco fundraiser we strive to serve and empower the visually impaired of Lawton. We’ve established two scholarships for higher education as well as other programs with the ultimate goal to help people who are visually impaired continue to be contributing members of our community.”
“We’re just really pleased to help,” said Jennifer Fortenbaugh. “It’s a great thing to be able to give back, and helping people in our community is the just right thing to do.”