July 27 – State Senator Tony Hwang joined the partner-owners of Duchess Restaurants to talk about the launch of their new initiative, ARK or Acts of Random Kindness. The ARK initiative was launched by Change Our World For Good, an organization aimed at promoting human kindness and charitable giving.
Businesses like Duchess Restaurants that partner with Change Our World For Good give out small plastic “ARKs” to customers. Each ARK is a kind of plastic piggy bank that those customers fill with spare change, and once it’s full they give the ARK to someone else in need.
“We always say love your neighbor as thyself. The country is divided over many different issues, and we at Duchess are trying to promote some human kindness and something we can all do together to make our world better,” said Lou Berkowitz, who manages Duchess Restaurants with his cousin Gary Lavin, a business they assumed from their parents.
Lavin adds, “When we were approached by Chang Our World for Good, we thought this was a great, simple idea. We’ve been part of the community for sixty years and we’re very excited to give back and we really hope this just takes off and we can spread a little more kindness in our communities.”
Senator Hwang, who proudly represents the area where Duchess was founded, praised Lavin & Berkowitz saying, “This is a great opportunity for people and businesses in our community to reach out to help those less fortunate by giving what they can. For many of us it is an opportunity to connect with our neighbors and make a positive difference, every bit helps. I want to thank Duchess Restaurants for initiating this important project.”
Stop by a Duchess or other participating store to get your ARK today, and do your own Act of Random Kindness.
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