A Brooklyn V’s Thank You Thursday

4 people holding giant check, standing in front of restaurant -

From Left: Lynda Wooten, Vito LoPiccolo- owner of Brooklyn V’s, Mike Wooten, Bill Salvatore- Realtor and Founder of AZVHV. Check represents 6-year total for Gilbert, AZ fundraiser.

We are extreme fans of Brooklyn V’s Pizza in Gilbert, Arizona, but in a much more meaningful sense than the fact that they create our favorite ‘Back East style’ Pizza or the most scrumptious Chicken Marsala ever. What makes Brooklyn V’s so extraordinary, is that they truly care about their community.

Each year around the holidays, Vito LoPiccolo, owner of Brooklyn V’s, sets aside one very special evening at his restaurant to benefit Send a Soldier a Smile.

Send a Soldier a Smile is the brainchild of Mike and Lynda Wooten of Gilbert, AZ. As the parents of a former military medic they took on the mind-boggling task of sending mountains of greeting cards and messages to deployed troops during the holidays, and they have repeated the process year after year.

11 large shipping boxes containing holiday cards for deployed military members

Thousands of holiday greetings prepared for shipping by Send a Soldier a Smile.

Brooklyn V’s Pizza, with a heart-felt show of respect for our military members, has been a part of it all since the very beginning, hosting a yearly fund raising event to assist Mike and Lynda with the many expenses involved in their endeavor, including purchasing cards, and shipping and handling.

Today, Thank You Thursday salutes Brooklyn V’s Pizza, and especially Vito LoPiccolo, Chef extraordinaire, dedicated community member and enthusiastic patriot. On behalf of service members deployed throughout the world, we at AZVHV are grateful for the kind folks at Brooklyn V’s and for Send a Soldier a Smile.