About 450 people attended a benefit fundraiser at Maialina Pizzeria Napoletana Monday and Tuesday, which raised almost $10,000 in support of University of Idaho student Bethany Lowe, who is fighting cancer.
Philip Vukelich | Argonaut
Carly Lilly, co-owner of the new Moscow restaurant Maialina Pizzeria Napoletana, removes a freshly baked pizza from the restaurant’s wood-burning oven during the fundraising event for UI student Bethany Lowe Tuesday.
“All the reservations were booked so we started taking walk-ins and fitting people in where we could,” Co-owner of Maialina and Sangria Grille Carly Lilly said. “People who couldn’t attend sent checks in the mail or cash with friends.”
Lilly said she and Lowe became friends when Lowe started dating and married UI student James Pearson, who worked as the head server and trainer at Sangria. Lilly said the fundraiser was a positive way for friends and family to support Lowe and Pearson.
“It was like a bomb went off … It was really devastating when Bethany was diagnosed,” Lilly said. “We thought ‘What can we do?’ so we decided to capitalize on the fact that the community has been really excited about the opening of Maialina and combine the excitement and use it to support Bethany.”
Lilly said the servers and staff members who worked during the benefit volunteered their time and money pooling $1,700 in gratuity. Even after the event, Lilly said donations are continuing to come in from the community.
“We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everybody who cares about Bethany and to the community for coming and making it so successful,” she said. “We couldn’t have done it without everybody who participated and donated money, even with all the volunteers in the world.”