Update: Local Contest Winner Donates Prize Money to VVFD

Earlier this summer, Vienna resident Lydia Russo was chosen from among more than 24,000 entrants in Donatos Pizza’s weekly “Summer of Your Life” contest drawing, earning herself a $1,000 cash prize in addition to a separate $1,000 donation to the charity of her choice.

Russo chose the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department as the recipient of her $1,000 donation “because it is local and dear to my heart,” and representatives of Donatos traveled to Vienna last Friday to present Russo and VVFD with their checks.

“I am so touched by the generosity of Donatos and truly appreciate all they have done, not only for me, but for the town,” Russo said. “The Vienna (location) is very much dedicated to the community. ... They go above and beyond on their customer service, and because of this, I will always go to them for pizza night.”

Check out the full story below, as well as some photos from the check presentations at the firehouse.

Our Original Post (from Aug. 4)

One text message won a Vienna resident $1,000 and won the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department another $1,000 as well.

Lydia Russo, of Vienna, participated in national pizza chain Donatos’ “Summer of Your Life” program, and was chosen as last week’s weekly winner. To enter, she simply texted “Summer” to 88188, and at week’s end her text message was the message chosen from among more than 24,000 texts as the winning entry.

Her prize was not only $1,000, but the chance to donate an additional $1,000 to the charity of her choice. She chose the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department, and Donatos will be present at the firehouse on Friday, Aug. 7, at 10 a.m. to present Russo and VVFD with their $1,000 checks.

“The winners kind of forget that they won the money and get caught up in the fun of giving the money to the charities and seeing what it can do,” Donatos spokesman Dave Parsons said of past winners in the contest, which runs through Labor Day weekend.

Donatos also holds a special place in the hearts of Russo and her family. She told Parsons that her mother is on dialysis and that her doctor allows her to have one piece of Donatos pizza per week as a special treat. This connected the family and the restaurant on a deeper level, resulting in Russo entering and ultimately winning the summer-long contest.

The Donatos location in Vienna sits at 126 Branch Road in town.

Images credit: John Russo

Image caption 1: Lydia Russo; Anthony Stancampiano, President of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department; John Morrison, Chief of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department; Dave Parsons from Donatos corporate

Image caption 2: Russo, Stancampiano, Morrison, Parsons

Image caption 3: Sean Sharifi, Brother of Lydia and a volunteer firefighter; Jeremy Watson, Manager of Donatos Vienna; Russo; Morrison; Stancampiano.