Silver Spring Restaurateurs Raise $20K For Uvalde Shooting Victims

SILVER SPRING, MD — Jen Meltzer was scrolling on Twitter when she came across a post with photos of the children and teachers who were killed during the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last week.

Meltzer, who is a mother and restaurant partner in Silver Spring, felt she had to do something, so she sent a text to her partner and asked if he thought they could donate the money they made one day at All Set, their Silver Spring eatery, to a fundraiser for Uvalde. He immediately replied and said yes, Meltzer told Patch.

They designated Tuesday as the day they would donate all of their sales, and ended up sending about $8,650 just from that day to the fundraiser organized by VictimsFirst, a network of families affected by mass shootings.

“I’m really happy with the turnout,” said Meltzer.

Meltzer also reached out to people she knows in hopes that others would donate, and raised another $15,000 that way, including $10,000 from a foundation her parents run, she said.

Meltzer said she’s been getting messages from people asking if it’s too late to donate to her fundraiser — she’s pointed them in the direction of the GoFundMe, where she’s already sent the money from All Set.

“Money is no replacement for those children, their lives, what they could have been,” Meltzer said to Patch. “But hopefully it helps a little bit.”

This isn’t the first time All Set has donated money to causes its owners support, and Meltzer hopes it won’t be the last. She said she’d like to do a fundraiser each month where a percentage of their sales support and highlight local charities.

“It’s not only the money,” she said of why she feels the fundraisers are important. “It’s the awareness.”