Massachusetts diner offers free food on Thanksgiving to raise money for cancer research
RAYNHAM - Most businesses are closed on Thanksgiving, but Our Mom's Place in Raynham is open for special hours with a limited menu, which happens to be free. All the diner asks is that people donate what they can for a good cause.
Free food on Thanksgiving
"I was driving by, and I saw 'free free free,' my favorite word, and 'Thanksgiving,'" says Raynham neighbor Susan Burns. "I think it's wonderful to give back to the community."
The diner donates the money in honor of a little girl named Mary Eisner, who died during her battle with cancer.
"She was diagnosed just after she turned three with hepatoblastoma, which is a rare liver cancer, childhood cancer, and she fought for about five years," says Mary's Mom Christina.
"We don't accept any tips or anything. Any money left behind gets donated to the Mary Eisner Foundation and cancer research," says Diner employee Genia Simmons.
Both Christina and Mary's sister, Kaitlin, joined diners for breakfast on Thursday. They were thankful as they watched friends and strangers step up to support their cause.
"We decided after she died, that we want to do something positive with that. We started a foundation and we use that money to help other people and other families, primarily with cancer journeys," says Christina.
"It's nice to see people remembering her," says Kaitlin.
The community is all too happy to help out the Eisners.
"We're all connected," says Burns.
Our Mom's Place raised around $3,000 last year, and they hope to break that record this year.