Noel Cunningham’s “Quarters for Kids” program teaches high schoolershow to make a difference for the truly destitute.

Q: You’re devoting a lot of energy to raising money for children in Ethiopia. What got you interested?

A: In 1984, when there was terrible famine in Ethiopia, I was working in Los Angeles at a very exclusive private club. It broke my heart that I couldn’t get the owners to help with a fundraiser.

Ethiopia is the fourth-poorest country in the world, and the Irish are always rooting for the underdog. (Cunningham is Irish.) I felt a tremendous amount of guilt that there was this incredible opulence at the club and we couldn’t have a simple fundraiser.

So I made a promise to myself that when I had my own place, I would do something.

Q: What are you doing to help in Ethiopia?

A: When my wife and I went there in 2001, we came across a program called Project Mercy that was building a school (and) a hospital and doing job training.

We decided we were going to help them to the best of our ability. We’re just a small part of what’s happened there, but it feels pretty good to be part of it and see that progress.

Q: How does your “Quarters for Kids” program work?

A: There are 225,000 high school students in Colorado. I would love for them to learn the relative significance, and the insignificance, of one dollar.

In Ethiopia, here’s the significance of a dollar: A quarter will buy breakfast, a quarter will buy lunch, a quarter will help pay for education, and a quarter will help to pay for a school uniform and shoes.

Any high school student in Colorado has a dollar. Or even $5. What do you have to give up? A soda, a candy bar, a cup of coffee. We are designating the Monday before Thanksgiving as “no soda, no candy day” to kick it off.

We will take six Colorado students (chosen randomly from all donors) on a trip to Ethiopia to experience firsthand the substantial difference their efforts will create.

Q: What other charitable endeavors is the Cunningham Foundation involved in?

A: We’ve helped raise $400,000 for children’s food programs at Brandon Shelter and Samaritan Shelter.

We use (Strings restaurant) to have breakfasts, lunches and dinners to raise money for various other programs. We donate the food, the wine, the staff. Over the years, it’s turned into a big chunk of change.

Q: How much have you donated in your 21 years owning Strings?

A: No idea. We don’t keep track of it; we just do it.

Q: Has the restaurant business been good enough to support your charity efforts?

A: Oh, yeah. The customer support that we have in this community is incredible. But I wouldn’t complain if we had a little more.

Q: How have you managed to keep the restaurant afloat this long when so many others have failed?

A: We never lose sight of the fact that this is a customer-service based business.

For my part, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen during the first 10 or 12 years. Now, I’ve transitioned to the front of the business. I let the younger generation come through with the culinary creativity.

Q: What should the role of small-business owners be in philanthropy?

A: There’s a balance in making sure that you’re a caring participant in your community, while protecting the viability of your business. For me, that’s always been an interesting balance.

You give enough away to make a difference, but not so much that it’s detrimental. Sometimes, I haven’t balanced that as well as I needed to. A couple of years ago, it was pretty tough (for the business) because I didn’t keep the right balance.

When it’s all said and done, who cares if you have a second house or if you have three cars? What real ly matters is if you contribute to something meaningful.


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