Please don't boycott our charity event because of the pit bull controversy, says a spokesman for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks.

Rob Blevins told the News-Leader that one of the biggest fundraising events for the organization, Ozarks Beerfest, appears to have been accidentally caught up in the backlash against a recently passed pit bull ban.

"People know that Mexican Villa is going to be at Beerfest," Blevins said. "They've been calling for boycotts of Beerfest because of that."

Some local residents have threatened to boycott Mexican Villa and other businesses associated with the five City Council members who voted in favor of the ban. Councilwoman Phyllis Ferguson is the chief operating officer and treasurer for Mexican Villa.

Members of some pit bull advocacy groups say they are discouraging the calls for boycotts, which, they say, is putting pit bull supporters in a negative light.

More than 20 people have commented on the Ozarks Beerfest Facebook page, about a boycott, Blevins said. The comments are quickly deleted, he said, and they keep coming. He attributed it to "poor timing" and misunderstanding.

More than 20 restaurants have volunteered to donate supplies and serve food for free at Ozarks Beerfest, Blevins said. Mexican Villa is one of them.

"Mexican Villa's not making any money off this," Blevins said. "It doesn't hurt Mexican Villa, it hurts our children's charity."

A hundred percent of the proceeds from Ozarks Beerfest go to Big Brothers Big Sisters, which helps underprivileged children by pairing them with positive adult role models, Blevins said.

"We understand the community has strong feelings about the (pit bull) issue, but the connection to our organization is really unfortunate," Blevins said. "It distracts from our mission and detracts from what we're trying to accomplish."

This year Big Brothers Big Sisters has served more than 750 kids, Blevins said. The organizations is looking to expand.

There are more than 100 "little brothers" on a waiting list, due to a shortage of male volunteers, he said.

"Kids will wait for a year to three years right now (before getting matched)," Blevins said. "We're counting on funding to support the matches we have and to support the growth the Ozarks are demanding."

Blevins said this year's Beerfest is expected to gross more than $90,000.

The event will be held Nov. 18 at the Springfield Expo Center. More details are available online at OzarksBeerfest.com.

Andrea Roach with Citizens Against BSL is helping lead a charge to repeal the city's pit bull ban, which is scheduled to be phased-in starting January.

Roach said she believes it's a handful of individuals, not any pit bull advocacy groups, calling for a boycott on Ozark Beerfest.

"I'm surprised, I'm in shock," Roach said. "They shouldn't be picking on a charity like that ... That's just awful. We should discourage people from posting that sort of thing."

Roach said there's been some discussion among leaders of different pit bull groups about how to curb calls for boycotts.

Councilman Craig Fishel told the News-Leader he has received some boycott threats against his business, Fishel Pools.

"I don't know what pit bulls have to do with swimming pools," Fishel said. "They're passionate about their beliefs and if they want to go through the petition process, I respect that."

Fishel said he has received "a lot of not-friendly emails" but he's not taking it personally.

"Being immature, calling names that won't influence me at all. It's about public safety," Fishel said. "If we can prevent any child from being attacked, that's what I care about."

During a council lunch meeting Tuesday, Councilman Tom Prater said there is a "vocal minority of citizens" who continue to "bully" city leaders.

"It's a disappointing thing that I didn't realize our citizens had the capability to do," Prater said, who also voted in favor of the ban.

Julie Gariepy leads another pit bull advocacy group called Legislation Against BSL said boycott posts are not allowed on its Facebook page. She is also a member of Don't Bully My Bully.

If people want to personally boycott some council members' businesses, that's fine, Gariepy said. But it's not something that the group wants to be affiliated with.

"We want to reach out to the community and help the community," Gariepy said. "We want to put as much positive light on this as possible."

Gariepy said people will be collecting signatures for the pit bull ban repeal effort at Artwalk Friday night.

Read more:

Citizen group begins circulating petitions to repeal Springfield's new pit bull ban

Opponents want to bring down Springfield's new pit bull ban. Here’s what they’ll have to do

Own a pit bull? Here's what you need to know about Springfield's new ban