Local restaurant raising money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital

Since the opening of the restaurant, staff at Chili’s Bar & Grill in Benton have raised money to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

To date, the restaurant has raised about $14,500, according to Monica Kuykendall, hope captain.

The Benton Police Department will be taking part in Hero Night from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at the restaurant in hopes of raising even more money for the hospital. Officers will serve as wait staff for the event.

Along with the Benton Police Department, tentatively Saline County Coroner Kevin Cleghorn and deputies with the Saline County Sheriff’s Office will be participating in other events throughout the week at the restaurant.

The Bryant Police Department participated in a similar event last week. A total of $700 was raised, Kuykendall said.

Between Sept. 1 to Sept. 30, the restaurant staff hope to raise a record-breaking $20,000.

Chili’s restaurants across the nation have been raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. So far the restaurant has raised more than $63 million to construct a care center. The restaurant is raising money to build a school at the hospital.

A school would help give patients some normalcy in their lives, she said.

Kuykendall said when the restaurant started raising funds 13 years ago for the hospital, the staff was just having fun, but eventually they began learning more about the hospital and what it does. As they became more involved, the staff gained a sense of pride.