Cruises for causes: Car shows in Monroeville provide opportunities for philanthropy

The start of a recent Sunday looked as if it might interfere with Bob Guiliani’s plans.

“When I came down here this morning at 9 o’clock, I had my wipers on,” he said. “It was raining.”

But precipitation eventually gave way to sunshine, meaning that the day’s car cruise at Haymaker Village Plaza in Monroeville could proceed as scheduled.

“We do five or six a year, and they’re 100% dependent on the weather,” Guiliani said. “If it looks like rain, they don’t even bring their cars. If it’s cloudy, they don’t bring their cars.”

The longtime owner of Papa Rocks Pizza Pub, a mainstay in the plaza, started the tradition about a decade ago. The cruises benefit charitable organizations through sales of tickets for 50/50s and raffle baskets, and donations from folks who enjoy seeing antique, classic and performance vehicles.

A frequent beneficiary is the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and recipients often are selected for specific dates of cruises, which start at noon.

For example, proceeds on July 30 will go to the Pitcairn Food Pantry, and visitors are encouraged to drop off nonperishable items at Papa Rocks for the cause. And the Aug. 20 cruise benefits a local woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer.

On July 16, the beneficiary was the Autism Employment Network, which has a combination work experience center and candy store at the Monroeville Mall. Bryan Kiger, president and CEO, said that ice cream, waffles and milkshakes soon will be available at the shop, called SpectroDolce.

The nonprofit conducts a two-week Transitional Age Youth Work Readiness Training Program, and one summer session still is open, starting Aug. 7. The program is open to anyone age 14 to 21 who has yet to graduate from high school.

“It’s a good opportunity for students on the spectrum and neurodiverse, in general, to learn employment skills, and to learn about new jobs and fields that they may want to be in that are beyond the usual expected employment for them,” Heather Szurszewski, Autism Employment Network director of program operations, said.

The network had an informational station set up between cars in the Haymaker Village Plaza parking lot.

“It’s great to be part of this,” Kiger said. “We’re thankful that Papa Rocks allowed us to be here today. It gives us an opportunity to talk about the work that we do and reach people who are maybe not aware of who we are and what we do.”

Philanthropy at Papa Rocks doesn’t stop with the car cruises. At the start of the year, some of the customers came up with a way to help, too.

“This is a swear jar that we started basically because I wanted to do something good after I retired,” pub regular Dino Disimo said.

As of mid-July, the jar raised $1,550, although Disimo put a bit of a disclaimer on the reason for donations.

“It’s not as much potty mouth as you’d think,” he said. “There’s a lot of love.”