Posts Tagged ‘redskins’
2009 Christmas Eve Dinner a Success!
Posted by Waleed | Filed under News
The 2009 Christmas Eve Dinner at The Dons’ Wood-Fired Pizza was quite a success! Below are some selected pictures from the event.
Derrick Dockery with Kedrick Golston
Kedric Golston Boxes Pizza
Lorenzo Alexander Serves Beverages
Owner Waleed Zarou with the Redskins
In addition to feeding loyal pizza fans and satisfying local Redskins fans, The Dons’ was able to make this a truly meaningful Christmas Eve, by collecting a healthy amount of donations for East Africa Missions. Owner Waleed Zarou is very active in missions and has participated regularly in missions trips to Kenya over the last decade, including one where he taught African locals how to make pizza. Part of the inspiration for this event is to bless the local community here and educate them about very serious needs worldwide.
Right now is a critical time in East Africa and the need for missions is very great! In addition to preaching the gospel message of Jesus Christ and building churches, donations also go to feed those in need. This last year has dealt a crushing blow to East Africa, particularly in Kenya, where political turmoil, rioting, and instability in the economy coupled with one of the worst droughts in years has brought a large part of the population to the brink of starvation.
If you would like to learn more or would like to make a donation, please visit The Dons’ Pizza in person.
The Dons Pizza To Offer Free Christmas Eve Dinner Again for 2009
Posted by Waleed | Filed under News
The Dons Pizza will follow-up its Free Christmas Eve Dinner from 2008 with one for 2009!
From 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24, the restaurant will offer any and all members of the community free dinner! The dinner is meant for whomever may like it, regardless of need. This year, a few members of the Redskins have committed to serve food!
The Dons Wood-Fired Pizza is located in the Cascades Marketplace (across from Starbucks).
21018 Southbank Street
Sterling, VA 20165
703-444-4959.
Young Fan’s Wish Comes True
Posted by Waleed | Filed under News
By Lina Hashem, Loudoun Times-Mirror
Original Article – May 20, 2008
Kendric Golston
Scott Miller Jr. – who turned 12 on May 21 — got an early birthday surprise during a visit to Don Corleone’s Brick Oven Pizzeria May 15. As he sat waiting for pizza, Redskins defensive tackle Kedric Golston walked in. Scott’s parents had conspired with the pizzeria’s owners to arrange for the meeting.
“This had to be one of the happiest moments of his life,” Colleen Miller said. “He thought Kedric was an incredible man … and it allowed him to know how very special he is.”
Scott’s parents feel pressed to give him as many of these moments as possible, because they worry about how many more they will have time for. Scott, of Fredericksburg, has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes mucous to clog his organs, including his lungs. He has to have breathing treatments three times a day and enzyme pills before each meal. Every morning and night, his parents have to pound on his chest and back and shake him while he coughs to dislodge the mucus. His treatments take 2.5 to 3 hours a day. They are vital to his life.
The median age of survival for CF patients is about 36.5, but Scott recently lost a 19-year-old acquaintance from his town to the illness.
Right now, there is no cure for CF, but the Millers aim to change that in time for Scott. They’re helping plan a June 8 walk in Fredericksburg. Colleen Miller’s Web page for the walk reports a goal of raising $10,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, with $1,094.59 pledged so far.
The Millers said CF activists struggle to get help because the disease’s sufferers look healthy.
“And then before you know it, they’re gone,” Colleen said.
Donations can be sent to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 2727 Enterprise Parkway, Suite 104, Richmond, VA 23294 (attn: Amy McCracken, for team Scottie). For information about the walk, visit www.cff.org/Great_Strides/ColleenMiller.
Kedric Golston Pizza Results
Posted by Waleed | Filed under News
By Dan Steinberg, Washington Post
Original Article – October 2, 2007
In the interest of tying up loose ends….
Kedric Golston and his team of “Pros” won the celebrity pizza eating contest Sunday at Don Corleone’s. By one slice. Professional eater Ian “The Invader” Hickman carried the team of pros, downing 32 slices, according to enthusiastic Don Corleone’s owner Waleed R. Zarou.
But Golston held his own, putting away 14 slices of pizza in 10 minutes (remember, they were double-cut, so that means he ate about 87 percent of one pie).
“He pushed himself to the limit,” Waleed told me. “He’s such a team player, he didn’t want to be the one to let his team down. That’s just so ingrained in him….I think he was glad to be done. He was concerned about going back to work the next day, all those extra carbs, but he just went for it. A true sport.”
(The third Pro, boxer Jimmy Lange, had six slices and then pledged never to eat Don Corleone’s again. Waleed told him he would be dreaming of his pizza in the middle of his training. The Joes had two teams, one with five people and the other with six, several of whom were getting themselves all fired up before the contest, determined to beat the Pros.)
“It was tremendous. It was amazing,” Waleed said. “Ian, he smoked about a 19-inch pizza in the first two minutes. I’ve never seen anything like that, it was almost like gagging.”
Wonder if Hickman can play wide receiver.
A Redskin Gets Stuffed
Posted by Waleed | Filed under News
By Dan Steinberg, Washington Post
Original Article – September 26, 2007
Redskins defensive tackle Kedric Golston is a big dude: 6-foot-4, about 315 pounds. “You think he’s just going to pick up his competitor and drop him in his belly,” is how Waleed R. Zarou put it.
Waleed is the owner of Don Corleone’s Brick Oven Pizzeria in Sterling, which is hosting this Sunday’s “Pros vs. Joes” pizza eating challenge. The team of “Pros” includes boxer Jimmy Lange, professional eater Ian “The Invader” Hickman and Golston. Waleed met with the second-year lineman to prep him for this weekend’s event, and even made him a pizza. You know, for practice.
“After like three slices I was stuffed,” Golston reported. “He was like, ‘Brother, you’re going to struggle in this competition.’ ” “I wasn’t too impressed,” Waleed confirmed. “I figure if I catch him after a practice, he’ll do more damage.”
“You know, I eat early and often, but not large amounts at one time,” Golston said. “I got guys on my team who just murder food. I don’t see how they do it.”
I mean, Golston has been a pleasant surprise on the line, but I really don’t think he’s cut out for this. He tried downing some Nathan’s hot dogs a few months ago, just to emulate the eating masters like Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi. “I ate like one and a half of them, and I was gonna burst,” he told me.
He’s careful about his health, so his meals are made up of chicken breasts and fish and protein shakes and broccoli, stuff like that. Not piles of pizza. “I’m totally going against everything I believe in,” he said.
Of course, this is all for charity–in this case, East Africa Missions, which concentrates on economic development in Kenya. And of course, Golston will be carried by his professional-eating teammate The Invader; the other two teams will be chosen from the “Joes,” or maybe “Janes,” who pay to enter the event’s raffle.
And even though Golston is presumably not hurting for money, he’ll be eligible for the more than $1,000 worth of exciting cash and non-cash prizes, including Redskins tickets, “if he wants to go see himself,” Waleed said.
Golston admitted that some of his football teammates might be more suited to this happening, which is 10 minutes long and will feature 18-inch pies, double-cut into 16 slices (to make the competitors feel better about their stats). (Also, the event will be emceed by someone dressed like Don Corleone, which might make for a good Golston photo op, if nothing else.)
Guard Randy Thomas has entered eating contests before; Golston labeled him “a legend” and said “I need to call him and figure out how to warm my stomach up.” Former D-linemen Renaldo Wynn and Joe Salave’a were “definitely in the top five” of Redskins eaters, but they’ve both been released. (Demetric Evans, though, is not an eating star; “he’s too pretty,” Golston said.)
He’s thinking maybe he should use scare tactics, try to intimidate his average-Joe opponents. He’s worried he might be his team’s weakest link. “I’ve been trying to drink a lot of water and a lot of bread to stretch my stomach, but it just ain’t been working,” he said. “You know, I’m going to try. If I can do three-fourths of one [pie], I’ll be pretty proud of myself. I don’t want to eat myself into a coma.”
Redskin Comes Out for Pizza-Eating Contest
Posted by Waleed | Filed under News
By Kim Centazzo, Ashburn Connection
Original Article – September 26, 2007
Don Corleone’s Brick Oven Pizzeria will hold a Pros vs. Joes Pizza Challenge Sunday, Sept. 30, at 2 p.m., at the restaurant, in Sterling.
Waleed Zarou, owner of Don Corleone’s Brick Oven Pizzeria, is looking for average men, women and children to compete against three celebrity guests including World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Jimmy Lange, who was featured on NBC’s reality television show The Contender, Washington Redskins football player Kedric Golston and professional eater Ian Hickman, who was featured on MTV’s True Life: I’m a Competitive Eater.
“I’m hoping a lot of people will come out and challenge these guys,” Zarou said. Tickets will be sold at the door for $5, and each ticket includes a slice of pizza and chance to compete against the professionals. Raffle tickets will be sold for a chance to win more than $1,000 in cash and prizes, including two memberships to Gold’s Gym and Washington Redskins tickets and parking passes.
ALL PROCEEDS from the event will go to East Africa Missions, something Zarou and his family have been involved with for almost a decade. Zarou leads mission trips to East Africa through his church, Calvary Temple Church in Sterling. While he is in Africa, he helps men and women with a number of tasks, including economic development.
“The money goes so far there,” he said.
Waleed Zarou teaches a Kenyan woman to make pizza
Zarou recalled one his most memorable trips to Kenya, when he taught women there to make pizza, using what little they had to make the dough and cook the pizza. “I taught them how to make it so they could sell it in bakeries and shops, maybe open a café,” he said. This is not the first time Zarou has raised money for East Africa Missions. He has held similar fund-raisers over the years, for the same cause. “I’ve always tried to use my business in creative ways,” he said. Zarou will return to Kenya in May.
Kenyan women learn to make pizza