Surf Club raising funds for employee injured in hit-and-run: 'We look out for one another'
NEWPORT – Just about every hotel and restaurant in the city has donated to a fundraiser to support the 19-year-old man who was hit by a car while walking on Renfrew Avenue in Middletown, according to Surf Club General Manager Laurie Bebrick.
Bebrick says that Eddy Garcia-Pio has been working at her restaurant in the dish room for the last three years.
Bebrick and Surf Club have led fundraising efforts since the accident earlier this month that hospitalized Garcia-Pio.
On Aug. 23, Surf Club will host a fundraiser from 5 to 9 p.m. to aid Garcia-Pio with his ongoing recovery. Proceeds will go directly toward Garcia-Pio and there will be a silent auction and raffles.
Raffle winners will win gift baskets filled with gift cards and other items from some of the local businesses in Newport. Musician Brian Scott will perform and tips he makes will also be donated toward the cause, according to Bebrick.
Newport businesses donating to cause
Bebrick said Surf Club internally has raised around $1,000 in just over a week, while donations from other businesses and sources have totalled just under $2,500 as of Aug. 18.
“Hopefully, we can exponentially grow from there,” she said.
Bebrick says she “feels happy yet sad.” She says it has been heartwarming that so many businesses have stepped up to help yet sad that it happened to Garcia-Pio – described on the Surf Club Facebook page as the “heart and soul of the kitchen.”
Bebrick says that she and another employee spent two days contacting local businesses. Many interrupted them with offers to help before they could even ask for a donation.
“It makes your heart warm that not one place in Newport hesitated to say ‘sure,’” Bebrick said.
“We look out for one another,” Bebrick said of the city’s hospitality community.
Hit-and-run victim still recovering from serious injuries
According to Bebrick, Garcia-Pio was released from the hospital but suffered a broken femur, elbow and two fractured vertebrae in his neck, among other injuries.
Garcia-Pio is now home from the hospital but will be in a neck brace for at least six weeks, she says.
Bebrick says that Garcia-Pio is known for his happy disposition and great work effort. When Bebrick visited him in the hospital, Garcia-Pio wanted a message passed along to a chef that “he will be back soon.”
According to police reports, Garcia-Pio was a victim of a hit-and-run on Aug. 7 and police arrested Frederick Williams, 43, of Middletown. He was arraigned in Newport County District Court three days after the accident.
o donate to the fundraiser, there is a Venmo barcode outside and inside Surf Club, as well as one on the restaurant’s Facebook page. Donation boxes have also been set up at both bars within the restaurant.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Surf Club Newport raising funds for worker recovering from hit-and-run
