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9 ways to share the love
Give to your community and they will give back to you.
February 21, 2007
I will always remember my T-ball league's social events. At no charge, the local pizzeria operator served two dozen pies and sodas after every game. To this day, I patronize that man's business when I'm home.
Even my parents still eat his pizza at least once a month—20 years after the fact. I estimate the Minnick family has spent $70,000 in his store over that time, and I'm sure other T-ball families have demonstrated equal gratitude to this pizzeria operator.
In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a family in the Choctaw, Okla., area who doesn't eat at Mazzio's Pizza on a regular basis. The operator's sense of community simply compels residents to buy his pizza. The Mazzio's owner not only made a difference in the lives of scrawny 5-year-olds, he built long-term customer relationships.
Taking a page out of his book, here are nine ways to get involved in your community. Maybe 20 years from now, one of your formerly 5-year-old customers will finally say thanks for a slice of pepperoni you gave him by putting dollars into your cash register.
1. Give away food. Au Bon Pain feeds needy families at community events. Ed Frechette, senior vice president of marketing, said the chain's employees have big hearts and want to help others. As for the business side: "Food donations put samples of our products in people's mouths that may not have tried us before, which is the best type of advertising. In many ways, it is an economical way of promoting our product because there are no distribution costs, just food costs."
An Alabama Domino's Pizza franchisee agrees with Frechette. Jason Upton, a four-unit Domino's operator, gave away 2,000 medium one-topping pies Dec. 11-12 to the 8,000 citizens of Guntersville, Ala., in celebration of the local football team's 4A State Championship.
"Nobody in our county has ever made it this far in the playoffs, and football is king here," Upton said. "So when we started winning, we knew we had to do something. We are all just so proud of our team. And this is a small town, so people want to celebrate."
2. Donate funds to a local charity. Panda Express sold plush panda bears in February and March to raise funds for the American Red Cross, Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Also helping young people, the Willow Street Restaurant Group supports schools, performing arts organizations and others in need of fundraising assistance. Every Monday and Wednesday, 20 percent of all Willow Street purchases are donated to community groups.
3. Help homeless people. Since 1985, Little Caesars has funded an award-winning, nationally recognized program called the Little Caesars Love Kitchen. Most recently, the Little Caesars Love Kitchen traveled to Katrina-devastated areas and provided meals to more than 50,000 people as they rebuilt their lives and communities. Over the past two decades, the Love Kitchen has fed more than 1.5 million people, aiding the hungry and disaster victims across the United States and Canada, and has been recognized by presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton.
4. Teach your children. It's A Grind coffeehouse operator Tim McCabe in Galt, Calif., works with a local high school marketing class to show them how a real business works. In addition to being a sponsor, he also is a one-on-one business coach. McCabe became involved with the local PTA and volunteered his time, donated coffee for several events including a surprise treat for 100 teachers during their break period at an elementary school. In conjunction with the Lodi Rotary Club, this operator even hosted a student from Costa Rica for a year and paid a visit to the student the following year. Together, they toured Costa Rica and the Café Brit coffee plantation, which supplies coffee beans around the world.
5. Adopt a school. It's A Grind operators Chris and Marie Mellgren in Corona, Calif., were propositioned one day by local principals to adopt their schools as local business partners. The Mellgrens enthusiastically agreed and after some paperwork and a school-board meeting, they were honored at an official ceremony. The student body, teachers, parents and PTA put on an event that included songs sung by each class regarding It's A Grind. Some 800 people made the Mellgrens feel like dignitaries. It didn't take any large monetary outlay, just some of their time, coffee donations and support.
6. Save the arts. Danielli Restaurant and Art Gallery, part of the historic Canterbury Hotel, hosts paintings by local artists. Although Danielli is an upscale concept, fast-casual operators can learn from the restaurant's efforts. Every month, a different artist is highlighted in an art and wine dinner with the artist. That dinner benefits a local charity.
7. Search for missing children. Raving! Brands recently announced that the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children will be its charitable and fundraising partner through 2008, and that it will commit $2 million to the organization. Raving Brands said the partnership is aimed at ensuring safer operations throughout its brands and also as a call-to-action for the broader restaurant industry to adopt simple, effective measures to address key child-safety issues. On the local level, every store operator can help protect children. Visit AmberAlert.gov for more information.
8. Help local heroes. Everyday Heroes, a California-based deli, provides financial support to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Foundation. The support enables fire fighters to obtain vital equipment and training tools, and to implement worthwhile programs. A percentage of every purchase is donated to the foundation. In Wisconsin, Subway and Pizza Hut operators fed a grieving family for a month. The family's loved one was a U.S. Army soldier who was killed in Iraq.
9. Do a little bit of everything. Bruegger's is involved with many charities on all levels. At the national level, it serves green bagels during St. Patrick's Day to raise funds for Feed The Children. For the Fourth of July, proceeds from red, white and blue-swirled bagels benefit Operation Homefront. Locally, Bruegger's operators donate a portion of grand-opening sales to a local charity. In Knoxville, Tenn., the chain supported the Imagination Library; in Fairbanks, Ala.,the Boys and Girls Club; in Shelburne, Vt., it was the Vermont Food Bank. Bruegger's also provides annual support for the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure in Pittsburgh.
"Restaurant people are giving by nature," said Scott Hughes, Bruegger's vice president of marketing. "We are in the business of making people happy. Restaurant owners and operators enjoy socializing with guests and seeing them enjoy their food, and giving is a natural offshoot of that personality."
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