WVIZ/PBS ideastream®: Make a Difference: Al “Bubba” Baker

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Al “Bubba” Baker

Many Northeast Ohioans recognize Al “Bubba” Baker from his NFL playing days, especially his stint as a Cleveland Browns lineman in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Others know Al from a second career running his family’s popular barbecue restaurant, Bubba’s Q, in Avon. Yet it turns out that Al has found some of his greatest satisfaction in contributions that his family makes to help the greater community, especially the hungry and homeless.

It turns out that Al’s daughter, Brittani, has always had a heart for the homeless. She regularly shared their restaurant’s nightly leftovers with people on the street, and then convinced her parents to host free meals for the homeless on Thanksgiving and Christmas. “It’s just the best gift!” notes Brittani.

"Help somebody else... If you give to somebody when you only have a few pennies in your pocket, it will multiply. It will start in your heart, and you’ll find you just don’t have that empty feeling any longer."

Organizations supported by Al “Bubba” Baker include (listed alphabetically):

2100 Lakeside Men’s Shelter (Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry)
American Lung Association, Ohio
Avon/Avon Lake Community Resource Services
Avon Lake City Schools
Avon Local Schools
Church on the Rise*
City Mission
Cleveland Foodbank
Harvest for Hunger
St. Augustine Church and Hunger Center
Victory Outreach, Cleveland

*Special thanks to the Church on the Rise for providing photographs from a free community dinner hosted at Bubba’s Q.