Dad’s Pizza Fundraiser Raises Over £1k In Memory Of Son

The owner of a pizza restaurant in Sutton Coldfield dough-nated over £1,193 to us through an initiative inspired by his son, who sadly passed away in 2013, aged just two-years-old.

Over the past year Antonello Atzori, also known as Tony, owner of Your Flamingo restaurant in Boldmere, donated 11p from the sale of every main pizza on his menu to support our hospital, where his son, Luca, received care for an extremely rare condition.

When Luca was just 12-months-old, Tony and his wife, Zoe, noticed he was showing a number of unusual and unexplained symptoms including seizures. Luca’s GP was perplexed until tests at our hospital led the family to a devastating diagnosis of Tay-Sachs Disease, a very rare and usually fatal inherited genetic condition, which stops the nerves working properly. Doctors prescribed medication to keep Luca as comfortable as possible.

Heart-broken and unsure how long they would have with their little boy, between hospital stays the Atorzi family spent the next year making precious memories with trips to see Tony’s family in Italy and a visit to Disney Land. Sadly, on 2 February 2013, just over a year after his diagnoses, Luca passed away.

In 2022, Tony opened his pizzeria and named it ‘Your Flamingo’ in homage to Luca, after Tony’s research found that the pink exotic birds could also develop the same rare condition. In Luca’s honour and as thanks for the care he received at our hospital, Tony began fundraising reaching out to his friends and customers for support. In the first year Tony raised over £600 at a coffee morning, and launched his initiative, choosing figures that bore significance to Luca’s journey. Eleven pence from each pizza which represents Luca’s birth date, would be donated to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and another 11p to another charity, totalling 22p, representing Luca’s passing on the second day of the second month.

Tony said: “Luca’s condition was so unbelievably rare that so little was known about it but the team at Birmingham Children’s Hospital did all they could for him and I’m so grateful for the time we had. Luca was my flamingo but the odds of him developing Tay-Sachs was so small, it could have happened to anyone, hence, Your Flamingo.

“I was so pleased to have raised so much through my loyal customers’ orders but I’m not finished yet. Our cicchetti (Italian style tapas) dishes are proving more and more popular by the day so in 2025, 22p from every main cicchetti order will also go to charity in Luca’s memory.”

Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Tony’s ingenious initiative is leaving a legacy for Luca and we’re truly humbled by the way Tony has used such a difficult experience in his life to help make a difference for so many others.

“The funds Tony and Your Flamingo raised will go towards helping us ensure our patients and families benefit from the best care, treatment, experience and environments.”