PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A family-run restaurant in Germantown serves the community in honor of a loved one taken by gun violence.
"August 2018, I received a phone call that my son was shot," said Tonya Kamper, the mother and — as she descibes it — biggest fan, of LeVern, a Germantown rapper known in the community as Vee.
"My son had a heart for the community," Kamper said. "He always wanted to help others."
In 2019, Kamper and her family opened up Veelicious Eatery to honor her son. Now the family is establishing "Stop What About Me," an anti-violence organization for youth, as well as the 100-KV Foundation, all to combat the rise in gun violence that Tonya says is tearing families apart by scaring citizens into silence.
But Kamper insists it's time to speak up and "come back together, save our children, stop the violence and save our city."
In addition to her own foundation, Veelicious is working on the 100-KV stop-the-violence menu, where 25% of the proceeds will be donated to other local anti-volence organizations across the city, because, she believes, that's what her son would want.
"He had a big heart and wanted to see everybody win," Kamper said.
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CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, LeVern's name was mispelled.
