Riviera Pizza in Roslyn will donate $1 to the Greater Glenside Patriotic Association (GGPA) every time it sells a medium or large pizza during the month of June. The donations will help with the cost of the Glenside Fourth of July Parade.

It’s not the first time the restaurant has donated either money or pizza. In fact, GGPA board member Jon Fox approached the restaurant’s owner, Sal Sparacio, about the fundraiser after he heard that the restaurant had done a similar fundraiser for the Roslyn Fire Co.

Sparacio, from Sicily, has owned Riviera since 1989. While sitting at a table toward the rear of his restaurant, he said he really doesn’t know why he donates to charities and local organizations.

His wife, Brigid, interjected.

“That’s just the kind of person Sal is. He’s a giver!” she said. “Jon Fox found out that we had done it for the Roslyn Fire Company … [Fox] approached Sal and said, ‘Hey, what do you think about doing something like that for the Fourth of July parade and the fireworks?’ Sal thought that was a great idea because, I mean, if you’re from this area, and you’re in town, that’s where you’re at on the Fourth of July.”

Brigid, who grew up in Roslyn, said she remembers hitting up the parade as a child—and said a little too quietly that she may have even danced in the parade as a kid.

On the counter of the restaurant is a small container with a sign on it that mentions the fundraiser. And every time a pizza is sold, Brigid said she drops a ticket into the container. The conversion rate is one ticket per one dollar donated to the parade.

So far, business in June has been strong, Brigid said, adding that the warm weather has helped.

“We were very busy on June 1. We were unusually busy,” she said. “A few people had said, ‘You’re the people who are donating for the parade, right?’”

GGPA President Al Herrmann said the parade costs about $45,000 to $50,000 to put on each year; about $15,000 of that is the cost of fireworks. He said the parade is doing well financially, this year.

So, the container on the counter of Riviera doesn’t need to have 45,000 tickets in it.

“We anticipate having a little bit of a balance this year,” Herrmann said. “We’re in much better shape than we were at this time last year. Last year, we were all but cancelling the parade, but we got tremendous support from the regional media.”

In addition to the “pizza” fundraiser, Herrmann said the GGPA sent out its fundraising letters to residents of Abington, Jenkintown, Cheltenham and Springfield yesterday—something that happens each year after Memorial Day and before Flag Day. Herrmann said the GGPA usually brings in about $15,000 from the fundraising letters.

Any extra money will go toward the 2012 installment of the parade.

On the Sparacios, Herrmann said, “I noticed every month they seem to be doing something for some community group. I don’t know them, I just met them, but from what I’ve read, they do a tremendous amount for the community. They’re really good people.”