There is a tiny restaurant in San Ramon, doing REALLY big things. Every Monday, a day that the restaurant is closed, Gianni’s Italian Bistro opens it’s restaurant up to non-profits for a “Tips for Change” fundraiser. In a nutshell, the non-profit provides the wait staff for the night, invites all the diners who come to dinner, then Melanie and Gianni Bartoletti give the non-profit all the tips earned that night and 10% of the food sales. This tiny restaurant has awarded millions of dollars to their community.

Xenophon has been fortunate to participate in this amazing fundraiser for about 10 years. Members of our Board of Directors, husbands of board members, staff members, and volunteers all leave their day jobs to don an apron, grab some order pads, and figure out how to serve drinks and dinner without spilling on their customers. Good-natured razzing of servers by the customers who know them is all part of the evening fun. The best part of the evening is the amazing Italian food that comes from the kitchen.

This year, Xenophon raised $7,839!! A huge thank you goes out to our donor who matched funds up to the $3,000 for the evening. But every single tip and dinner purchased made a difference. You helped us reach our goal and then some! You also made the whole evening a lot of fun. And of course, a big thank you to all of our servers who worked so hard: Danielle, Greg, Lisa, Laura, Linda, Melissa, Peter, and Rebecca.