Just over 20 years ago, while out to dinner, Belmont resident Dante Muzzioli and a dozen or so of his friends realized they had the power to make a difference in other people’s lives.
“[We] said how blessed we were to have so much and be so fortunate,” he said. “We identified some local families in the town that needed some help. That’s how it started. … and it grew into what it grew into.”
The annual fundraiser, Dinner for a Cause, has gone from helping individual people or families in town, to supporting major research foundations and everything in between. Some examples include Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Wounded Heart.
“My son-in-law is a Purple Heart recipient,” Muzzioli said. “He got that about eight years ago so that kind of precipitated that.”
Now in its 22nd year, the event is often a fundraiser for cancer research, typically in recognition of friends or local business owners who died from the disease.
“Dana Farber has made so many beautiful strides for tackling cancer,” he said.
Last year was particularly successful—in part thanks to an anonymous donor—with a grand total raised of $140,585 to benefit Dana Farber. Typically, Muzzioli said he looks to raise between $40,000 and $50,000.
“We are certainly blessed to live in Belmont; we’re certainly blessed to have the life and friends we have … and it’s nice to give back to the community that’s been so good to us,” Muzzioli said.
This year, the event will take place at The Federal in Waltham on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 7 p.m. Tickets are $90, and donations are encouraged. There will be live music and a live auction.
“It’s nice to bring people together,” he said. “This is a cause that we all unfortunately … will be touched by cancer.”
Tickets can be purchased in advance online at dinner-for-a-cause.com.