If don’t nobody else got us, we got us!
Owners of the popular Atlanta restaurants Slutty Vegan and Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks have teamed up to provide college scholarships for the children of Rayshard Brooks, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.
Pinky Cole, owner of Slutty Vegan in Atlanta, Georgia, is no stranger to helping the community. With the success of her popular burger joint, she makes it her duty to help out whenever she can. So when she heard about the murder of Rayshard Brooks at the hands of Atlanta police, she immediately started putting together a plan to help Brooks’ family.
That’s when she got in touch with Derrick Hayes, owner of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, and the two came together to pull off a surprise for Tomika Miller, the widow of Brooks. “It’s not very often you see communities sticking together especially in our own communities. We’re going to be the change we wish to see and we’re going to be the example and show people that we can come together,” Cole said.
Under the guise of a meeting, the two restaurateurs brought Miller out to provide her with several gifts that they hope will ease some worry while dealing with the loss of her husband. The gifts include life insurance policies for her and her kids, a brand new car to aid with transportation, and scholarships for all four children to attend Clark Atlanta University. Miller was overcome with emotion, thanking the two in between sobs.
Cole spoke to reporters about the surprise, saying, “This wasn’t anything new. This was just something we were compelled to do because we realize there is now a single mom of four who doesn’t have transportation, who’s now trying to figure life out on top of grieving the loss of losing her husband. We didn’t want to talk about what she’s dealing with. We just wanted to show her, we got your back, and we’re going to support you, and if you need us you can call us.”
Hayes echoed those sentiments, saying, “If we’re all in this together, we gotta show that we’re in this together.”
Both Cole and Hayes agreed that they feel like they are duty bound to help those in their community and they plan to keep giving back, urging other local business owners to do the same.
Thank you for all you both have done and will continue to do!
Photo Courtesy of The Art Department, LLC./Fox 5 Atlanta