Looking to make a difference? Sometimes, it can be as simple as choosing where to eat dinner!
Mike and Stephanie Karas, owners of Salt and Pepper Grill and Pub in Holland, MI, and their staff are dedicated to providing great food, good times, and genuine hospitality for their customers. However, for those who know them there is yet another aspect that keeps them coming back. During its two and a half year existence, Salt and Pepper has generously given to many charities and organizations. Vox United is grateful to be one of them.
Salt and Pepper first partnered with Vox United in January 2012. With the help of their customers, Salt and Pepper raised their goal of $2,500 for what they called the “Eat[well]” campaign. This money was invested halfway around the world where it repaired a well in Nanga, Mozambique in November of the same year. It provided an estimated 1500 people with a source of safe, clean water. Salt and Pepper is proud of this accomplishment, and the certificate (including the GPS coordinates of the village benefited) is now hanging prominently on the wall of their waiting room as a thank you to all their customers who made the difference.
But they didn’t stop there; Salt and Pepper’s latest campaign is literally turning wine into water. The “Wine[well]” campaign which ran this past November, is aimed at impacting thousands more lives. How? The first thing that catches your ear as you enter Salt and Pepper is the pleasant sound of trickling water. Above the charming little water fountain, customers can read about the clean water mission in Africa and how they can help. During the month of November, wine connoisseurs among us may have been drawn in by a special selection of wine, which a percentage was donated for the cause. Then there are some of us who just plain wanted to give. Salt and Pepper made this incredibly easy. For every $5 given to the Wine[well] campaign S&P gave a certificate for $5.00 off the next visit. That makes giving $5.00 easy and painless.
Mike and Stephanie believe their customers want the satisfaction not only of a great meal and a full tummy, but of knowing that their money is going to a good cause. On a personal level, he is motivated by a simple rule, “To those whom much is given, much is required.” He lives by the idea that to invest your money well, you need to know the players (the people behind the organization).
Vox would like to thank Mike, Stephanie, and the Salt and Pepper team for caring about the needs of the world and doing something about it.