A Leeds steakhouse has raised £11,000 in just seven hours after giving away the entire takings from its Day of Giving to help orphans and widows in Syria.
Bison Steakhouse pledged that everything taken between 4pm and 11pm during its special charity day would be donated to the cause, including money from customers dining in, Uber Eats orders and sales of charity confectionery.
By the end of the night, the total had reached £11,000.
The money will now be handed to UC3, a charity working on the ground in Syria to support families whose lives have been devastated by years of conflict.
For the team at Bison, however, the figure represents more than a successful fundraiser.
It meant sacrificing the revenue from one of the restaurant’s busiest trading periods in the hope that customers enjoying a meal in Leeds could help families thousands of miles away begin rebuilding their lives.
A spokesperson for Bison Steakhouse said: “For us, giving has to be selfless. Our entire takings of £11,000 from our busiest day is going to help those who need it the most.
“We believe that if you give, God will protect you and give you more. Paying it forward always comes back to you.
“We are so thankful to all our customers and our staff for making the day such a success and helping us achieve this milestone.
“We fed you, and you helped feed Syria.”
The restaurant had deliberately chosen a busy trading day for the fundraiser in an effort to maximise the amount it could raise.
Rather than donating a percentage of profits or adding a discretionary contribution to customers’ bills, the business pledged its takings from the seven-hour period to the appeal.
That meant every table filled, every takeaway ordered and every piece of charity confectionery bought contributed towards the final total.
The £11,000 will now be donated to UC3, which says it operates a 100 per cent donation policy, with volunteers giving their time and covering their own expenses.
UC3 has teams working on the ground in Syria, where it supports people affected by the consequences of more than a decade of conflict.
According to figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Syria has an estimated total population of approximately 25.6 million to 26.5 million people, and roughly 15.6 million people (about 60% to 70% of the population) are affected by the war and require humanitarian assistance with children in life-threatening situations, which have torn families and communities apart.
Bison’s donation will be directed towards helping orphans and widows as they attempt to rebuild their lives.
The restaurant’s Day of Giving had called on customers to play their part simply by turning up, ordering their food and supporting the business as they normally would.
Customers responded.
For seven hours, meals being served in Leeds became part of a much bigger story, one connecting diners in Yorkshire with families facing hardship in Syria.
Staff also played their part, working through one of the restaurant’s busiest days knowing the money coming through the tills would ultimately be going elsewhere.
The £11,000 total has now given Bison’s original appeal a fitting conclusion and turned what could have been an ordinary Saturday night’s trading into potentially life-changing support for families thousands of miles away.
For Bison, the message to those who made it possible was a simple one:
“We fed you, and you helped feed Syria.”
