KEARNY MESA (KGTV) — There's the saying, "the stars align." That happened to two childhood best friends, Matt Teeter and Carlos Sanguinetti.
"My family has known Matt's family since probably Matt was 3 years old and I was 56 years old," Sanguinetti said.
Just over 15 years ago, Teeter moved back to San Diego and reconnected with Sanguinetti. Shortly after the move, Sanguinetti was diagnosed with cancer.
"Just hearing it, you know, it was like it's just a gut punch," Teeter said.
Sanguinetti says he saw life differently after the news. One afternoon, an idea popped in his head.
"I looked at Matt and said, 'hey, you know, I don't think we do enough. What's something that we could do to give back in San Diego?'" Sanguinetti said.
That idea led them to the Ronald McDonald House of San Diego.
"I would notice the sign on the freeway and I didn't know anything about it, but I'd always heard Ronald McDonald House," Sanguinetti said.
The two started by volunteering in the house's kitchen, and eventually inviting friends and family members to join in.
"The only way I can describe that experience is, I mean, rewarding, you know, you feel like you're actually doing something good for somebody else," Teeter said.
But they still wanted to do more. That's when Dinner with Friends was born — just a night of good food with people they love, and fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House. Its first year, they raised $7,000.
"Just the community that we felt with the families that were here," Teeter said. "We help them just a little bit, you know, get through that day. It was selfishly rewarding, you know, it felt good to do that."
Over the years, the dinner kept growing, from just a few dozen people to now 200 people. Through 14 years, they've raised over $1 million.
"It's great because we raised a lot of money, but the awareness that we've raised over that time as well is equally important," Sanguinetti said.
A move back home for Teeter came just in time, when Sanguinetti needed a friend the most. Together, they made the best out of the worst, and plan to keep the stars shining bright for Dinner with Friends.
"We're never like satisfied. Like every year, we're like, what can we do more? How can we do better," Sanguinetti said.
"Just growing that community of people that want to give back, I think is really the most important thing," Teeter said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
