Harvard Square Businesses Donate to Marathon Victims

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, many Harvard Square restaurants and businesses are donating portions of their sales to help victims of the attacks.

“Anything that we could do in some small way to help the victims was something that we felt strongly about,” said Patrick M. Lee, a partner with The Grafton Group, whose restaurants PARK, Russell House Tavern, Grafton Street, and Temple Bar all participated in fundraising.

Several Harvard Square restaurants, including Harvest and Café Sushi, signed on with The Greg Hill Foundation to donate a portion of their sales to the victims of the bombings. The Charles Hotel’s restaurants, Rialto and Henrietta’s Table, will also donate one percent of their revenue during the month of May to “The One Fund,” a campaign established by Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick ’78 and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino to help those most affected by the attack.

In addition to raising funds individually, businesses are uniting for a fundraiser for Cambridge residents and newlyweds Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky, who both lost the lower part of their left legs as a result of the explosion.

Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the HSBA, said that Councilor David P. Maher contacted her to help raise awareness for the online fundraising campaign created by friends of the couple through GiveForward. Jillson said that when she went to the campaign’s website, she saw a photo of Downes and Kensky, holding hands as they walked past Harvard Square’s Holyoke Center.

“It really broke my heart,” she said. “They were just so beautiful and looking so much in love and carefree, and I thought that we can’t just help get the word out, we need to do something.”

Jillson set up an auction to raise additional money for the couple, garnering immediate donations from local businesses, including Toscano, Maharaja, Dado Tea, and Rebekah Brooks.

“The outpouring of support and kindness and generosity is so touching and so moving that I could just cry,” Jillson added. “The auction and the raffle have almost become an event within the event.”

The Charles Hotel is donating a one-night stay and dinner for two as the grand prize for the raffle. The Charles’ Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator Ariana Ducas said that many of the hotel’s employees attended or ran in the marathon, while others live in the Watertown area that witnessed the bulk of Friday’s manhunt for the bombing suspect.

“I think it’s encouraging for people to see that all of these businesses are coming together,” Ducas said.

—Staff writer Nikki D. Erlick can be reached at nikkierlick@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @nikkierlick.