Uncle Kage Calls For Furries to Rally to Save Local Pittsburgh Business
Fernando DeCarvalho, owner of Fernando’s Cafe in Pittsburgh, has been a good friend to both Anthrocon and to the Furry Fandom. The economy has not been good to him of late, however, and he has made the sad decision to close his restaurant at the end of April, 2012. He will be left deep in debt, with no way to pay it off.
Fernando was the first person in Pittsburgh to roll out the welcome mat for us, and a visit to his cafe has become as integral to the Anthrocon experience as the Masquerade. We won’t be able to keep him in business, but we sure as hell can help him get out from under the mountain of debt he’s accrued, partly because he tried to stay in business beyond the “point of no return” just because he wanted to be there for us just one more time.
I can not think of any way other than Paypal to collect some money that I would like to deliver to him on April 21, when a gang of Furries is planning to descend on his little establishment for one last lunchtime party. If you would like to help, please consider a donation via Paypal to help...@yahoo.com. Kindly mark the donation clearly “FOR FERNANDO.” If Paypal is not your thing, please send an email to that address and I will let you know of other payment options.
Again, this is not a call for idle charity; instead, think of it as an extended tip-jar. This is a call to say “thank you!” to a man who more than just about anyone else led to Anthrocon becoming a cherished Pittsburgh institution.
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The title of the article is a bit misleading. The business can’t be saved at this point, the donations are to help the owner cover the expenses that had already been acquired.
Regardless of how you read the title, that shouldn’t really make a difference. Just because we’re not rallying to keep the business afloat, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help to save the man from complete destitution if we’re able to. He accrued this debt in an attempt to accommodate the attendees of AC this June, knowing full well he’d be financially ruined anyway. : It sucks. And, I agree that we should help if we can.
It’s not how I read the title, it’s what the title actually says. I agree with the premise of helping the business owner get out of debt since he had helped set the standard for Anthrocon/local business relations.
It’s not only a nice gesture to Fernando, it has also kind of sticks it to businesses who were not so nice (Which means for those where meanness is more a motivator of action then kindness then it’s also a win).
It sucks to get hopes up reading a title then have the wind knocked out by the article’s content. If it had simply had the word “Owner” concatenated on the end it would have been more accurate. Worthy cause either way, certainly more so in my opinion then the “get 2 to Eurofrance (*cough*1st class *cough*)” one a few years back.
Just kind of a FYI in article writing.
Of course I’m now getting tweets where furs are saying that Fenando is 4,000 dollars away from staying open for Anthrocon? The article made it seem this wasn’t possible, so now either the person making the tweet is being mislead, misleading, or something changed since the posting. So now I’m just confused, but in the end donations are necessary either way.
Well, its good that you read the actual article, then. And now you know. And knowing is half the battle.
So who exactly is handling the donations? Uncle Kage himself? I’d trust some people more than others, i’m wary of money these days obviously. Also, is it a surprise to Fernando, is he aware of the fundraiser, and does anyone know if he has twitter or visits sites like these, meaning there’s a chance he found out about it. A surprise gift would make it so much more memorable. Also, please please PLEASE, I demand/request video of when the donation is given or just told to Fernando. It would be memorable, heartwarming and inspiring.
Basically what had occurred since this was posted 4 days ago was that this was turned into saving the entire business entirely, rather than just a last hurrah situation as posted here. Basically a bunch of people started dropping donations in large amounts, where it was possible to save the business in it’s entirety. It’s not misleading, it’s just old information given the flood of unexpected donation money.
Are donations still being accepted? If so how can I do that?
I wonder if $21,000 is enough to save his business? Because that’s how much we raised