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Local Restaurant Owner's Injury Sparks Wave Of Internet Giving

The Lexington community has thrown its support behind restaurant owner Mamadou Savané following an accident that left him in intensive care.

When the news broke that Savané – better known as "Sav" – suffered second-degree burns over half his body in a cooking accident, the response went viral in a matter of minutes. Now, a fundraiser is following suit.

"From people who own McDonald's to coaches on UK football teams to students at UK to just regular people with very little and people with lots, I've seen who's been giving... and it's across the board," says Robbie Morgan, the events and sponsorships director at Smiley Pete Publishing.

Smiley Pete is just one of the businesses that moved to launched a Give Forward campaign to help fund Sav’s business expenses during what’s expected to be a lengthy recovery.

In just over 24 hours, Morgan says the campaign is already nearing its $50,000 goal - a speedy and generous response, to be sure, but not that surprising to people who know the man behind the counter at Sav’s Grill & West African Cuisine.  

"It's hard to think that a bowl of Fufu with Mafen Veg on top would do this kind of work, but it's just a testament to who he is and the kind of love and care and spirit that he's put into the community that's now giving it back," she says.

Donations are being accepted at giveforward.com.

The fundraiser will culminate with an event from 6 to 9 at Smiley Pete’s offices on Old Vine Street on Monday.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.