March Fourth fundraiser set for today helps nonprofit continue its work
Primanti Bros. in Pleasant Hills will donate 20% of its sales today for customers who mention the nonprofit.
A local nonprofit is having its annual fundraiser today online and at Primanti Bros. on Clairton Boulevard in Pleasant Hills.
Longtime Elizabeth Township residents Ed and Jacki Faircloth created an organization in their son Tanner’s honor called March Fourth, for his birthday. It helps those who are struggling with mental illness keep moving forward during difficult times while letting them know that they are not alone.
From 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Primanti Bros. will celebrate Tanner’s Birthday Party Fundraiser by donating 20% of all sales, except for alcohol, to the nonprofit.
Tanner Faircloth
“We really would love it if people could come celebrate Tanner and his birthday and his kindness and help us help the patients (we serve) because we do really need all the help we can get,” Jacki said.
Customers can donate by showing their server a copy of their flier (printed or digital copy), using the Primanti’s QR Code on the flier to make an online order and/ or entering the code “DINE2DONATE” at checkout or by mentioning the “Dine to Donate” Fundraiser when placing an order over the phone.
They have also become a donor’s choice organization in United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, so anyone who gives to United Way can choose to donate funds toward March Fourth.
There are also ways to donate online on Facebook and on its website. The family encourages people to wear any March Fourth gear today, even if they cannot make it to Primanti’s, and to do an act of kindness in memory of Tanner.
The nonprofit works to provide essentials, resources, positive experiences and compassionate support to those navigating mental health struggles.
Its goal is to help individuals and their families continue taking steps forward — big or small — toward healing and stability during challenging times. Its motto is “One Step at a Time.”
“We believe in a world where conversations about mental health are free of stigma and shame,” the nonprofit’s website states. “Our hope is that one day, very soon, mental health concerns will be as openly discussed, accurately diagnosed, and effectively treated as physical health issues are today. No one should ever have to suffer in silence.”
Because of donations, they are able to donate items like Crocs and crewneck sweatshirts to patients at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. According to Jacki, these items are essential for patients, and staff can order more when they need them.
Their first patient delivery was Sept. 6, 2024, and things went so well that the staff asked if they could add wireless sports bras to their donations, which was done Feb. 3, 2025.
“If their bra has wires in them, they take them away from them in the hospital when they’re inpatient for safety reasons,” Jacki said. “So we added those. Obviously, they provide comfort and dignity to the women patients, especially if they’re going to group therapy, or walking the halls. So obviously wearing a bra would be more comfortable than not.”
They also added youth crewnecks and sports bras for the adolescents and children in the hospital, especially in the winter so they are comfortable, according to Jacki.
The hospital also started a new electronic ordering system for the staff of the entire hospital, Jacki said, and if they need a new sports bra, crewneck or a pair of Crocs, they can order one of each per person.
“When we first started, we just did two units that Tanner was on,” she added. “It helps them to know that someone cares about them, too. We don’t realize that something that simple can really make their day and help them know that someone cares about them.”
By the end of 2025, had donated nearly 2,200 items to patients, including 850 pairs of Crocs, about 1,100 crewnecks and 235 sports bras.
They have gotten numerous letters from the patients and the staff thanking March Fourth for helping them.
March Fourth also did a project with the UPMC STEP clinic, which stands for “Services for the Treatment of Early Psychosis,” to give journals and 988 suicide hotline bracelets to their patients.
“They said that they needed journals for their patients to do a little bit of homework from therapy, and also to keep track of things that doctors say when they are at their appointments,” Jacki said. “So they would give them something in their hand that they can use to write down that stuff.”
A lot of projects are very early in the works, according to Jacki, with one being a bingo fundraiser, and possibly some sort of donation to Pitt Street Medicine, which donates to homeless residents. She said to watch for these events in the next few months.
Jacki remembered when Tanner was 12 years old, he was riding his bike with her dad in Homestead where they spotted a homeless man on a bench. Tanner got the homeless man a cheeseburger and fries, and that type of kindness is why Jacki wants to continue Tanner’s legacy.
“There are little things that really make a difference for somebody that doesn’t have them,” Jacki said. “I just want to use this organization to pay forward what he kind of did in his kindness, so that we can keep putting it out there into the world.”
More about the nonprofit, a way to donate and Tanner’s story can be found at https://www.marchfourth2000. org.
