Tampa, FL – August 28, 2017 – Thursday, August 10, 2017, Hooters Management Corp. (HMC) presented a $50,000 donation to Moffitt Cancer Center, to educate providers, advocates and patients about immunotherapy in breast cancer to enhance clinical trial participation.
The donation amount represents $46,000 raised at HMC-owned Hooters restaurants this past October, during the “Give a Hoot” campaign. Gil DiGiannantonio, one of the original six Hooters founders, heard about the donation amount Thursday morning, and personally donated an additional $4,000 to round the total contribution up to an even $50,000.
The presentation took place in the Gruden Huddle Room in Moffitt’s McKinley Outpatient Center, 10920 N. McKinley Drive, Tampa, FL 33612, 813-745-4673. The event included Dr. Brian Czerniecki, chair and senior member in the Moffitt Cancer Center Department of Breast Oncology; Darby Steadman, breast cancer patient; Edward C. Droste, Hooters co-founder; Leah Ramker Roberts, HMC promotions and marketing director; and local Hooters Girls. Hooters lunch was served.
Give a Hoot is held annually in honor of HMC’s own Kelly Jo Dowd, who was a Hooters Girl, Hooters Calendar Cover Girl, and ultimately Palm Harbor restaurant general manager, before dying of breast cancer in 2007. Dowd spent her last five years battling the disease and became an advocate for early detection, education and fundraising in the battle against breast cancer in the Hooters organization.
Hooters’ Give a Hoot program is now in its 11th year. The 2016 campaign raised a Hooters-wide total of $725,000, bringing the campaign’s national total to date to more than $5 million.
Donations were collected nationwide in conjunction with the V Foundation for Cancer Research, which was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator. Each Hooters franchisee groupthen designated the cancer research center to which 100 percent of the money they raised was donated.
For additional photos or information, contact Lizz Harmon at 813-288-6909 (office), 813-477-4690 (cell), or lizz@lizzharmon.com.
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About Moffitt Cancer Center
Moffitt is dedicated to one lifesaving mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. One of the three largest cancer centers in the United States based on patient volume, the Tampa-based facility is one of only 48 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt’s excellence in research, its contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt is the top-ranked cancer hospital in Florida and has been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of the “Best Hospitals” for cancer care since 1999. Moffitt devotes more than 2 million square feet to research and patient care. With more than 5,600 team members, Moffitt has an economic impact in the state of $1.9 billion. For more information, call 1-888-MOFFITT, visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the Moffitt momentum on Facebook, Twitterand YouTube.
About Hooters Management Corp.
Located in Clearwater, Hooters Management Corp. launched the Original Hooters in Clearwater in 1983, and now owns and operates 25 restaurants in Tampa Bay, Chicago and Manhattan. For more information, call 727-725-2551, visit OriginalHooters.com, or follow Original Hooters on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
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