News

Pizza Hut donates 10K books through reading program

November 13, 2012

In celebration of National Young Readers Week Nov.12-16, Pizza Hut and its Book It! Program have selected the winning restaurants in the third annual Book It! Big Book Giveaway.

The giveaway challenges Pizza Hut restaurants nationwide to develop creative and impactful ways to donate 500 books in their local communities as part of the program's goal to motivate children to read more.

Twenty of the 6,000 Pizza Hut restaurants nationwide were chosen as winners. These restaurants focused on how the donation of books would impact their community and support literacy tied to the Book It! program, which is in its 28th year.

Highlighted below are a few of the winning concepts:

• Celebration, Fla.: Pizza Hut team members hosted a Big Book Giveaway celebration event with donated books, lunch, bowling and goodie bags for more than 100 families at the Children's Home Society of Florida Foster Friends Program.
• Dallas, Texas: Pizza Hut team members will donate books to Mi Escuelita Preschool, which provides early childhood education for low income at-risk children.
• Sacramento, Calif.: Pizza Hut restaurants will celebrate National Young Readers Week by donating books to the Sacramento Children's Home.
• Philadelphia: Pizza Hut team members will visit the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to read stories and distribute books to children during their stay in the hospital.
• Indianapolis: Pizza Hut restaurants will coordinate a family event and donate books to Shepherd Community Center, an organization focused on breaking the cycle of poverty for area residents.

In addition to the book giveaway, the program is celebrating National Young Reader's Week by teaming up with One More Story to feature a narrated book on bookitprogram.com during Nov. 12-16.

The Book It! Program is part of the "Share a Slice of Hope" movement at Pizza Hut. Share a Slice of Hope encourages consumers and Pizza Hut employees nationwide to help others through the company's three philanthropic pillars: children's literacy, world hunger relief and community involvement.

Read more about cause marketing.