FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christy Moran
703-299-2602
American Pizza Community Celebrates, Gives Back to the Many Communities It Serves
Washington, D.C., October 3, 2016 – The American Pizza Community (APC) salutes National Pizza Month by giving back to the communities in which pizza operators, franchisees and corporate brands serve through a variety of charitable efforts. Pizza is a time-honored tradition in communities everywhere and the only thing that can match the passion local pizza store owners and operators have for serving pizza is that of supporting the communities where they call home.
“Our industry is proud of its deeply-connected ties to local communities,” said Tim McIntyre, Chair of the APC. Many pizza shops are owned by local families who give back to their communities throughout the year from sponsoring local sports and youth clubs to hosting events or other charitable giveaways. "We encourage all pizza companies to join the APC in these charitable efforts throughout National Pizza Month," continued McIntyre.
Of the nearly 73,000 pizza stores in the U.S., 54% are independently owned and operated, according to PMQ 2016 Pizza Power Report.
And whether an independent pizzeria or a franchise brand, the entire industry supports causes close to home, as well as larger charitable efforts such as hunger relief, childhood development and education programs, disaster relief and quickly responding with food and care during times of crisis when those in the community need it most.
Members of the American Pizza Community encourage everyone to celebrate National Pizza Month with friends and family for celebratory occasions or for next your family meal. Share it on Facebook or Twitter with #NationalPizzaMonth. Here are several examples of pizza companies giving back to their communities:
Domino’s Pizza will be delivering free pizzas to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan on select days in October. Domino’s has a close relationship with the organization, and has delivered pizzas to kids and families each month for many years. A key centerpiece of the Ann Arbor and University of Michigan community, Mott’s mission is to integrate clinical care, education, research and advocacy to advance the health status of children, women and their families and communities statewide.
As a national sponsor of the Boys Town National Hotline (1-800-448-3000) for more than 12 years, Godfather’s Pizza features the National Hotline number prominently on millions of pizza boxes annually. The National Hotline refers thousands of families and youth to resources to help them through difficult times on a variety of issues – like bullying, poverty, suicidal thoughts, school problems, family issues, etc. Since the partnership began in 2004, Godfather’s Pizza has donated more than $2 million to support Boys Town and the families they serve.
Locally, the company provides gift cards and pizza for the reading rewards program at Wegner Middle School, a Boys Town school for students in grades 4 through 8 and visits from The Godfather. Godfather’s Pizza employees also contribute their time, talents and financial gifts to create care packages for children on campus during the holidays, mentor students, administer the annual Booster Banquet silent auction and share knowledge and a fun time in the pizza industry!
The national headquarters also regularly donates pizza and provides volunteers at the local homeless shelter, the Siena/Francis House. Volunteers also deliver Meals on Wheels twice per month through the program with the Eastern Nebraska Organization on Aging.
Beyond Boys Town
The company and its franchisees don’t limit their philanthropic endeavors with the Boys Town National Hotline®; Godfather’s Pizza works hard to support local causes because giving back to the community is so important. Franchise owners regularly donate pizza to charities, raise funds through sales for individuals and families in need, sponsor or compete in charity events like golf tournaments and cooking competitions and host hundreds of organizational meetings in stores across the nation.
Throughout October, Hungry Howie’s Pizza supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month with the “Love, Hope & Pizza” campaign, whereby all Hungry Howie’s Pizza locations will serve pizza in pink boxes with the National Breast Cancer Foundation logo. Additionally, for every pizza sold Hungry Howie’s donates a portion of the proceeds to the National Breast Cancer Foundation; and a portion of each chocolate Howie Brownie™ sale will go towards the Foundation. Hungry Howie’s pizza has raised more than $1,500,000 for breast cancer research over the last six years.
Hunt Brothers Pizza
Hunt Brothers Pizza supports many local charitable organizations through its Community Care-a-Van and Pizza-to-the-Rescue programs on an ongoing basis. Over the past 6 years, Hunt Brothers Pizza has participated in hundreds of events, provided thousands of pizzas and volunteered nearly 9,000 employee hours to help youth and religious organizations.
To celebrate National Pizza Month, Hunt Brothers Pizza will be supporting local organizations that help children in need and provide services to homeless populations by donating pizzas to Nashville-based organizations throughout October including Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, KaBoom and Room at the Inn. We have also made donations of food and financial support to the Second Harvest Food Bank in Nashville.
Little Caesars Pizza and its franchisees are dedicated to countless organizations throughout the world. The company proudly supports the Little Caesars hockey scholarship program for young men and women who participate in the Little Caesars AAA Hockey program. Through its Veterans Program, it offers special career opportunities to honorably discharged veterans as they transition to civilian life or seek a career change. In addition, since 1985 the company's Little Caesars Love Kitchen, a pizza kitchen on wheels, has served more than three million people traveling across the United States and Canada, meeting the needs of the hungry, the homeless and disaster survivors. An estimated 50,000 Little Caesars franchise owners and employees have donated their time, food and labor for the Love Kitchen servings.
Papa John’s and its Team Members are focused are focused on making communities a better place for all by supporting organizations throughout the year through pizza donations and fundraising efforts. Charitable organizations include the Salvation Army, The ALS Association, American Heart Association, Metro United Way, WHAS Crusade for Children, FEAT (Families for Effective Autism), V Foundation for Cancer Research and Volunteers of America, to name just a few.
One example is an effort called “Doing the Most Good” benefitting The Salvation Army, whereby Papa John’s corporate company and franchisees everywhere help raise awareness for TSA’s hunger and disaster relief programs, as well as provide meals to local communities. Since 2012, Papa John's has contributed more than $1.5 million toward disaster recovery and relief.
Pizza Hut®, has been fostering a love of reading for more than 30 years through the BOOK IT!® literacy program, and has recently set a goal of transforming more than 100 million lives worldwide through its largest social impact program ever called Pizza Hut: The Literacy Project. Anyone can make donations year-round which go towards literacy efforts including the purchase of new books and school supplies. Pizza Hut team members will support The Literacy Project in their local communities by volunteering their time to help address literacy in ways that matter most and driving fundraising for organizations in need in their communities.
Pizza Schmizza, along with H.E.L.P the Charity (Helping Education with Love and Pizza), will be donating 4,000 tablet covers to the Beaverton, Oregon public school district. Each middle school student will receive one tablet cover to protect their school-issued tablet. Education is extremely important to Pizza Schmizza and the company is happy to assist with supplying an educational need for a local community school. H.E.L.P. the Charity is a 501c3 organization, created in 2010, to provide grants to local schools and other entities to support educational programs. Pizza store employees will be providing information and materials about H.E.L.P to customers on October 12th. For further information, follow Pizza Schmizza on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About The American Pizza Community
The American Pizza Community is a coalition of the nation’s large and small pizza companies, operators, franchisees, vendors, suppliers and other entities that make up the American pizza industry. The coalition was formed in 2010 to advocate for policies affecting pizza companies and operators including menu and labeling information, fair wages, work opportunity tax credit, background checks, tax policies and small business access to capital.
Current members include Blackjack Pizza, Breadeaux Pizza, Domino’s Pizza, Figaro’s Italian Pizza, Godfather’s Pizza, Hungry Howie’s, Hunt Brothers Pizza, the International Pizza Hut Franchise Holders Association, Little Caesars, Nick-N-Willy’s, Papa John’s Pizza, Papa Murphy’s Pizza, Papa's Pizza To-Go, Papa Romano's Pizza, Pieology, Pizza Factory, Pizza Schmizza, and Sam & Louie's Pizza. Supplier partners include Coca-Cola, Leprino Foods Company, Middleby Marshall, Paradise Tomato Kitchens, PepsiCo and Tyson Foods. Affiliate partners include the Consortium for Common Food Names, the National Pork Producers Council and the Tomato Products Wellness Council. www.AmericanPizzaCommunity.com