Toppers Pizza Announces Event to Raise Money in Honor of Cecil the Lion

When Toppers Pizza* franchisee Ron Kluft heard news of the death of Zimbabwe’s beloved Cecil the Lion, he immediately knew he had to do something. And when word came out that the accused poacher was from Bloomington, Minn., Ron decided to take action at his Bloomington Toppers location.

“When I heard about Cecil, my heart just broke,” said Kluft, owner of the Toppers Pizza in Bloomington. “But to find out his alleged killer was from Bloomington made me realize that it was up to us in the community to work together, to raise money and do our part to make sure a tragedy like this does not happen again.”

On Saturday, August 8^th, Toppers Pizza, at 7821 Portland Ave S., in Bloomington, will be donating 100 percent of the day’s proceeds to organizations that help protect lions. From 10:30 a.m. until 3:00 a.m., all revenue from the Bloomington location will be split between the Wildlife Research Unit at the Department of Zoology at Oxford University (the team that had been researching Cecil the Lion through the use of a special GPS collar) and Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue.

“It’s my hope that, through this gesture, we’re doing our part to underscore the need for more support and understanding of the plight of wild lions in Africa,” said Kluft.