GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A downtown Grand Rapids restaurant will be donating 5% of its sales to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Reserve Wine & Food announced that the donations will be made while Dear Evan Hansen runs on Broadway Grand Rapids.
Both the donations and the play will run from May 3-7. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is a voluntary health organization that works with those affected by suicide. The organization’s core strategies includes: funding scientific research, educating the public about mental health and suicide prevention, advocating for public policies in mental health and suicide prevention, and supporting survivors of suicide loss and those affected by suicide.
“The hospitality and restaurant industry is a high-paced and often high-stress environment,” said Peter Marantette, General Manager of Reserve Wine & Food. “The past two years have only exacerbated this level of stress as we’ve had to navigate all of the restrictions and changes to our business, as well as the expectations of our customers. We focus every day on taking care of our guests and ensuring their satisfaction and well-being that oftentimes we forget to take care of ourselves. Industry-wide, mental health needs to be more of a focus for restaurant employees. We are proud to provide a wide range of health and support services to our team at Reserve via an Employee Assistance Program. Donating to AFSP is one way we can draw attention to the conversation, and hopefully help combat this problem.”
Since Dear Evan Hansen first opened on December 4, 2016, the show has fueled conversations about mental health and mental health awareness. The play went on to win multiple Tony Awards in 2017, including Best Musical. A film version was released by Universal Pictures in 2021, which was directed by Stephen Chbosky. It starred Ben Platt (who also played the role on Broadway), Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, and Amy Adams.
Dear Evan Hansen will run at the DeVos Performance Hall from May 3-7.
