Injured South Jersey Marine honored as local hero on pizza boxes

AUDUBON – About four months ago, Genova Pizza began to honor local heroes with their cartoon likeness adorning pizza boxes with proceeds going to the charity of their choice.

Now, they have selected their second hero and this one hits close to home. The pizzeria has selected former employee Harrison Whitman, a Marine who was seriously injured while stationed in Yuma, Arizona.

The Cuthbert Boulevard shop will offer the Whitman hero boxes with select pizzas throughout September.

Proceeds will go to the Warrior Foundation in honor of Whitman, who began working at Genova Pizza as a grill cook and showed a great work ethic and “warrior spirit,” according to Ali Doukali, who owns and operates the business with his brother Omar Doukali.

Whitman, 2021 Audubon High School graduate, says he was stationed in Yuma, Arizona when the injury occurred. He had been in the Marines for a little over a year at the time.

His former colleagues at Genova were devastated when they heard the news.

“Unfortunately, Harrison became paralyzed from the waist down,” Ali Doukali shared. “Harrison is such an inspiration to the entire community of Audubon, and he continues to bless us with his positive attitude and positive spirit." We hope to raise as much money as possible during the month of September to donate back to the veterans in need.

“Honoring Harrison is definitely something that is satisfying for my brother and for myself as well. Personally, I’ve always had a deep gratitude for our veterans and being a restaurant owner, it has allowed me create a way to give back to those who sacrifice so much for us and our beautiful country…selecting Harrison to be Genova Pizza’s second local hero was a no brainer.”

Harrison Whitman doesn't view himself as a hero but pizza shop does

Lance Cpl. Whitman, 20, is currently stationed at Wounded Warrior Battalion West in California.

“I worked at Genova for a year and a half before I joined the Marines and the workers there are like family to me,” Whitman told the Courier Post in an interview. “I would like to say that I don’t think I should be seen as a hero but that it is an honor to be able to give back to the organization that has been helping me out, along with countless wounded warriors over the years.”

Ali said having a personal relationship with Harrison makes this even more special.

Genova Pizza honors heroes Two South Jersey brothers hope to help, one pizza box at a time

“Throughout his time at Genova Pizza, Harrison displayed a remarkable ability to touch those around him through friendship and understanding,” Ali said. “He always came into work with a smile on his face. When we asked him to do any job, he did it with no qualms. He was always there if you needed him. My brother and I still to this day consider Harrison part of our family.

“When we learned about Harrison losing his ability to walk, it was a crushing blow for the entire pizzeria and community of Audubon. But as we all anticipated, he is making great progress with his rehabilitation and hopefully will be able to return to a normal life sooner rather than later.”

Nominate a Genova Pizza Local Hero

Genova Pizza’s first local hero was a toddler with leukemia, Callen McDonnell, who was honored in April.

The pizzeria raised more than $1,500 for Callen with the pizza boxes and T-shirt sales, providing aid towards his medical costs.

Ali and his brother work closely with their nominee (or their families), design the custom pizza box with their character and also choose the foundation they’d like the proceeds donated to. They plan to honor a new local hero about every three months, Ali said,

The community has input with the local hero pizza boxes. If someone knows a community member who has overcome adversity and is an inspiration to those around them, the pizzeria wants to know. There is a tab on their website to nominate local hero No. 3, which will be in December.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Injured Marine honored by South Jersey pizzeria as local hero