Pete and Danialle Karmanos know a thing or two about small businesses and how difficult in can be even in normal times to make a living. Both were raised in small family-owned restaurants and both say they received the “foundation” necessary to accomplish everything they’ve done in life since.
Danialle started working in her dad’s pizzeria in Detroit when she was only 12. She did everything from kitchen prep to taking orders to frying fish and chips. Her husband Pete was also raised in his Greek immigrant parents’ diner on Detroit’s west side.
Speaking of Pete’s family diner— funny story that anyone with a Greek mother can relate to. Long after Pete had established Compuware, a multi-billion dollar computing company, his mother would still call him to fill in for a line cook or other kitchen help when someone would call off and the diner was short staffed.
Fast forward to 2021. Detroit small businesses are struggling because of mandatory state closures that have been put in place to stem the spread of the Coronavirus. And Pete and Danialle saw a way to give back and lend their support— with a $100,000 donation to the Barstool Fund, a fund that was established that helps small business owners during the pandemic.
The couple has donated tens of millions of dollars to a number of charitable organizations and institutions over the years including the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, the Center for Creative Studies and the Detroit Public Theatre. They have also supported numerous causes in the Greek American community, as a hat tip to Pete’s Greek heritage.
Earlier in the pandemic, Pete and Danialle made a massive $40 million gift to support immunotherapy research to help cancer patients build up their immune systems.
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