The name is not a joke. It is the memory of a day when a restaurant owner noticed a family in need and chose to respond.
Read the story
Charisse Rivers was raised in the Keys, alongside her two siblings, by a single father.
He was a tree trimmer. Work was not always plentiful, and neither was food. From him, Charisse learned the value of hard work and resilience, and what it means to keep going when there is very little to go on.
During one particularly rough patch, he took his three children to a local restaurant.
He had enough money for them to share one grilled cheese sandwich. The owner of the restaurant saw the need and gave each child a grilled cheese of their own.
"When you're a kid you don't necessarily know you are living in poverty until you do."Charisse Rivers
Then something else happened. The entire community rallied around a single father devoted to raising three young children.
In that small town there were two dance studios, some amazing moms, a local restaurant, and a couple of families who helped shape their lives. Charisse learned how long it stays with a child when people show up in a time of need.
Charisse went on to graduate from the University of Florida and build a career helping people understand their finances.
She saw that her father's life could have turned out differently if someone had taught him a few important money skills, and she made that kind of education her life's work. In 2018 she founded the Grilled Cheese Foundation to pay forward what her community once gave her.
Today the foundation helps students from sixth grade through college discover their passions and pursue education with purpose.
Empowering youth facing economic barriers to discover their passions, develop their talents, and build pathways to their future.
A child who is noticed once carries that moment for the rest of their life.
Help often begins with one person paying attention. We work to see the students who might otherwise be overlooked.
Every young person has interests and potential worth developing, whatever their family's finances look like.
No single gift changed Charisse's childhood. A whole town did. We invite people and businesses everywhere to do the same.
Our college scholarship applicants complete community service, because generosity is meant to keep moving.
Founder
Charisse is a financial advisor, a University of Florida graduate, a philanthropist, and a mother of two. She is the founder and CEO of Zinnia Wealth Management and the host of Retirement Coffee Talk.
Her giving reaches beyond the foundation, including support for local veterans and for children and parents in need during the holidays.
"When you have a passion you pursue it. When you have a calling you live it."
A volunteer board is responsible for how every dollar is used.
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Your gift helps a young person join the team, take the class, or begin college with support behind them.
