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From autism to Arbor Day, pizza brands show their community-mindedness

Photo: iStock.

April 2, 2021

Pizza brands nationwide are nose to the grindstone in their commitment to community, supporting everything from autism awareness to the absolute necessity to planetary health that trees are.

Beginning with autism awareness, Chuck E. Cheese is marking this month dedicated to public cognizance of the subject by bringing back its Sensory Sensitive Sundays program on April 11 in select locations nationwide, a news release said. The program creates dedicated playtime designed specifically for children with autism and other special sensory needs, offering a quieter dining and entertainment environment, dimmed lighting and a sensory-friendly arcade experience.

On April 11, all Chuck E. Cheese locations reopened for games will open two hours early to host Sensory Sensitive Sunday events. A number of Chuck E. Cheese locations will host Sensory Sensitive Sundays throughout April, and select locations nationwide will reintroduce the program the first Sunday of every month for the remainder of 2021.

"For many years, we've hosted Sensory Sensitive Sundays to ensure that Chuck E. Cheese is truly the place where every kid can be a kid," Sherri Landry, CEC Entertainment CMO, said in the release. "We've heard from families that they appreciated the program and how much they've missed it while it's been paused during the pandemic. Bringing back Sensory Sensitive Sundays during Autism Awareness Month is a fitting way to celebrate and support these children and their families."

Additionally, beginning today, Chuck E. Cheese guests can donate to Autism Speaks by rounding up their purchases to the nearest dollar. All round-up contributions will support Autism Speaks' research, advocacy efforts and programs and services.

Meanwhile, moving over to Ohio-based Romeo's Pizza, their heads are definitely in the trees through a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant trees in Florida, to restore the forest canopy there, provide critical wildlife habitat and improve watershed health, a news release said.

Through its partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, Romeo's Pizza is focused on living up to one of the company's core values which is to positively impact our communities and environment. In 2019, the company embarked on an initiative to replace plastic packaging for appetizers and salads with compostable packaging. To date, the company has eliminated over two million plastic packages from the environment.

"Forests clean our air and water, cool our planet and are home to critical wildlife," Dan Lambe, Arbor Day Foundation president, said in the release. "With the help of partners like Romeo's Pizza, we can regenerate life back to these forests."

In 2018, Hurricane Michael passed through the Econfina Creek and Chipola River Watersheds located in Bay, Calhoun and Washington counties in Florida. This area lost thousands of acres of standing timber as the eye of the hurricane crossed the Chipola River. Reforestation provides forage for game and promotes native groundcover, such as wildflowers and other plants. Additional benefits occur for native game and aquatic species that call this area home such as deer, turkey bobwhite quail, fish and amphibians.

"Partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation is a big honor for Romeo's Pizza. As a growing business whose core value is to enrich the lives and communities we serve, we have a responsibility to use our platform for good. This community partnership provides us that opportunity, and we couldn't be more excited to get started," Ryan Rose, Romeo's Pizza CEO, said in the release.

Romeo's Pizza's tree planting efforts contribute to the Arbor Day Foundation's Time for Trees initiative. Launched in 2019, Time for Trees unites corporations, communities, and individuals under the goal of planting 100 million trees and inspiring 5 million tree planters by Arbor Day of 2022. Begun in Medina, Ohio, Romeo's Pizza has 46 locations systemwide.

And lastly at Grimaldi's Pizzeria, they're working to draw awareness and donations to help fight child abuse, which data shows is increasing in the wake of the pandemic. That's why this April, Grimaldi's is launching a donation campaign across 41 locations to raise funds for Childhelp, one of the nation's leading non-profit organizations dedicated to prevention, intervention, treatment and community outreach related to child abuse, a news release said.

From now through April 30, Grimaldi's Pizzeria restaurants nationwide will offer bounce-back cards to match guests' donations to Childhelp. Bounce-back cards will be gifted in increments of $5 up to a total of $25 per visit. The Grimaldi's campaign to support Childhelp adds another dimension to the brand's longstanding efforts to bring awareness to and raise funds for issues facing children across the country. The company has also proudly partnered with non-profit Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign for more than 10 years.

"Here at Grimaldi's, causes that support our nation's children have always been near and dear to our hearts, so this fundraiser to benefit Childhelp was a no brainer for us. We've always seen incredible generosity from our guests and local communities on behalf of our fundraising campaigns, and we expect to make an impact this April," Joseph Ciolli, Grimaldi's CEO and Childhelp board member, said in the release. "Child Abuse Prevention Month brings to light an issue we are proud to raise awareness for at neighborhood Grimaldi's locations from coast to coast."

Grimaldi's originated in Brooklyn over 100 years ago, while Childhelp was founded in 1959.