Food & Beverage

Papa Gino's fights fire with info, awareness

Photo: Provided

October 7, 2020

Aside from Pizza Month, October is also Fire Safety, which Papa Gino's has been taking to heart through its annual fire safety program since 1993. During the campaign, the brand's stores across New England give some back-up to firefighter efforts around the same time, a news release said.

In fact, over the last 27 years, the chain has supported more than 1,800 fire station open houses, by giving away over 100,000 large pizzas and in excess of 1.5 million activity sheets and educational flyers.

The pandemic, however, has put a crimp in most of those annual events this year, so Papa Gino's is moving its support behind fire prevention efforts by:

• Donating pizzas to fire departments as part of its Pizza My Heart program.
• Donating kid's firefighter hats, coloring sheets and activity sheets to surrounding communities.
• Leading a social media campaign to tag firefighters, teachers and other fire safety educators.

"Even though a lot has changed this year, one thing that remains a constant is our commitment to raising awareness during fire prevention month and supporting fire departments across the communities we serve here in New England," CMO Deena McKinley said in the release. "We at Papa Gino's are so grateful for the opportunity to bring these local heroes delicious pizzas and provide kids with fun and important educational resources to learn about fire safety."

The Dedham, Massachusetts-based brand has nearly 100 restaurants in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut.