PLANO, Texas, Sept. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
HIGHLIGHTS
- Program begins September 8,
2016, which also marks the 50-year anniversary of
"International Literacy Day"
- Nearly one billion people cannot read this sentence
- Communities with lower literacy rates have higher levels of
poverty, unemployment
- For the past 32 years, Pizza Hut has helped develop a love
of reading among 65 million young people through the BOOK IT!
program
- Rodriguez, who has also written a book, is supporting The
Literacy Project by serving as project ambassador, as well as
assisting in the donation of books to 100 second- and third-graders
at PS 30, a public elementary school in East Harlem
- Pizza Hut is partnering with First Book, the award-winning,
nonprofit social enterprise that furthers education equity for
classrooms and programs serving kids in need
Pizza Hut today announced a global commitment to literacy
and reading that engages customers and team members around the
world through a coordinated fundraising and community engagement
campaign to enable access to resources, empower teachers and
inspire reading on a global scale.
Called Pizza Hut: The Literacy Project, the campaign will
transform the lives of 100 million people over the course of 10
years by helping them become their best through literacy and
reading.
The project kicks off on "International Literacy Day,"
established 50 years ago to actively mobilize the international
community to promote literacy as an instrument to empower
individuals, local communities and societies.
"Nearly one billion people in the world cannot read this
sentence," said Artie Starrs,
President, Pizza Hut, U.S. "Literacy and reading are bridges to
opportunity, and at Pizza Hut, we believe that providing access to
literacy and reading resources will help people thrive, creating
more prosperous economies and communities."
To help launch The Literacy Project, Pizza Hut launched a video
designed to help people internalize what it would be like to
experience "Life without Words." The video is designed to
inspire an understanding of how literacy and reading play a
significant role throughout our lives.
Pizza Hut has a long history of supporting literacy. The Pizza
Hut BOOK IT! Program, which was established by the pizza restaurant
in 1984, has been inspiring young people to read for more than 30
years. Roughly 1 in 5 Americans have participated in BOOK IT!,
including more than 14 million students this year in 620,000
classrooms in the U.S. The BOOK IT! Program is the longest-running,
corporate-supported literacy program in the country, and The
Literacy Program is building on that foundation.
More information about The Literacy Project can be found at
TheLiteracyProject.PizzaHut.com.
Partnering with First Book
First Book, a recognized nonprofit, social sector leader in
supporting equal access to education by providing new books and
education resources to schools and programs that serve children in
need, will support Pizza Hut in fulfilling its goal.
Through The Literacy Project, funds raised will provide
educators with credits to the First Book Marketplace for selected
schools and programs located near Pizza Hut restaurants. These
credits will provide the needed purchasing power that allows
educators to select from thousands of specially curated book titles
and other educational resources available for free or at deeply
reduced rates.
In addition, First Book features Open eBooks, a digital library
loaded with thousands of free eBooks available to anyone within its
network.
"The teachers we serve tell us that when a child discovers a
love of reading, not only do they unlock their potential, but
ultimately the community benefits," said Kyle Zimmer, co-founder, president and CEO,
First Book. "But too many low-income communities simply don't have
the resources to provide children with access to books, and
teachers in these classrooms and programs often spend hundreds of
dollars of their own money to try to provide what students need.
Pizza Hut: The Literacy Project will unlock the potential of
millions of underserved children and communities."
International Literacy Day Announcement Featuring TV Star
Rico Rodriguez
To kick off the program, Pizza Hut, First Book and TV star
Rico Rodriguez are putting books in
the hands of 100 second and third graders at PS 30, a public
elementary school in East Harlem, New
York City. Students will receive a free book to further the
effort of enabling access, a key component of improving literacy
around the world.
"Reading books can open your world to places you would never
otherwise experience," said Rodriguez. "Through The Literacy
Project, we're going to be able to inspire reading and literacy all
around the world."
Fundraising
Pizza Hut restaurants will be fundraising year-round in support
of The Literacy Project. Beginning on September 8, Pizza Hut customers have a chance to
support literacy in restaurants or online at PizzaHut.com, with
donations that will be designated to build literacy in their
communities. Any donation can have a major impact.
- $1 helps take an important step
toward literacy
- $3 gives a brand new book
- $5 provides new school
supplies
- $10 purchases a backpack of
books
Local Activation
Pizza Hut team members and franchise partners will power The
Literacy Project, with each restaurant being called upon to
organize community engagement efforts to address literacy and
inspire donations in their communities.
On September 8, Pizza Hut
employees are encouraged to give back to the communities in which
they serve by finding volunteer opportunities with organizations
such as churches, schools or libraries to build book cases, develop
pop-up reading nooks and read to members in the community.
"We are incredibly passionate about the communities where we
have restaurants and our team members couldn't be more excited
about giving back locally," said Bill
Walsh, CEO of Daland Corporation, a Pizza Hut franchisee.
"BOOK IT! has created the perfect platform to inspire readers in
our communities. By expanding that commitment through The Literacy
Project, we believe our community impact will be even greater,
which is very important to us and our team members."
Countries currently participating in The Literacy Project
include the United States,
Brazil, South Africa and Costa Rica. Additional countries and locations
will be added throughout the campaign.
About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM),
delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant in
the world. The pizza restaurant began 58 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, when two brothers borrowed
$600 from their mom to start a
pizzeria. What started out small has become the biggest pizza
restaurant in the world and today operates more than 16,000
restaurants in more than 100 countries serving innovative pizzas,
traditional favorites like the signature Pan Pizza, and much more.
Pizza Hut also is the proprietor of the BOOK IT!®
Program, which is a long-standing children's literacy program used
in more than 630,000 classrooms nationwide. For more information,
visit www.pizzahut.com. Follow Pizza Hut on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/PizzaHut), Twitter (www.twitter.com/pizzahut) and
Instagram (www.instagram.com/pizzahut).
About First
Book
First Book is an award-winning, nonprofit social enterprise that
provides new books, learning materials and essentials to children
in need. First Book has distributed more than 150 million books and
educational resources to programs and schools serving children from
low-income families throughout the United
States and Canada. First
Book's membership of more than 275,000 teachers and program leaders
is the largest and fastest growing network of educators exclusively
serving children from low-income families. By making new,
high-quality books and essentials available to them on an ongoing
basis, First Book is transforming lives, so that every child can
have equal access to a quality education. Eligible educators,
librarians, program leaders, and others serving children in need
can sign up at firstbook.org/register. For more information, please
visit firstbook.org or follow the latest news on
Facebook and Twitter.
*For all media inquiries, please contact Pizza Hut:
Doug Terfehr, 972-338-6992,
Doug.Terfehr@yum.com
Courtney Moscovic, 972-338-8288,
Courtney.Moscovic@yum.com
Video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na1I0n3wu04&feature=youtu.be
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SOURCE Pizza Hut