Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) and Junior Achievement (JA) today announced a national partnership that will help local JA Offices deliver work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy lessons to U.S. students. Papa John’s will donate two dollars to JA for each customer who places their pizza order at www.papajohns.com and uses the online coupon displaying the Junior Achievement logo.
In addition, Papa John’s franchises and corporate-owned restaurants will conduct “job shadow” events at which JA students can experience first-hand what it is like to own and run a Papa John’s restaurant, and Papa John’s employees will be encouraged to volunteer to teach JA classes at schools in their communities. JA Offices can also expand the partnership to include recruiting Papa John’s franchisees and local market team leadership to serve on their boards of directors.
“This partnership with Junior Achievement provides a great opportunity for Papa John’s restaurant management and staff to interact with students and show them what a rewarding experience owning and operating their own business can be,” said Bill Van Epps, president of Papa John’s USA, and director of Junior Achievement USA. “We are thrilled to work with an organization like Junior Achievement that fosters the entrepreneurial spirit in our youth—Papa John’s was started by an entrepreneur and Papa John’s franchisees are entrepreneurs, so the partnership between our organizations is a natural one.”
Gerald M. Czarnecki, president and chief executive officer of Junior Achievement, added, “We are very excited about this partnership with Papa John’s, and are grateful for the support and engagement of such a successful, fast-growing organization that wants to help young people succeed. Everyone eats pizza, and this online coupon gives the public an easy way to support Junior Achievement programs in their area by purchasing something they regularly enjoy.”
About JA Worldwide® (Junior Achievement)
JA Worldwide is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA Worldwide provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 140 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional 4.3 million students served by operations in 114 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.
About Papa John’s International, Inc.
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world’s third largest pizza company. Papa John's has been rated no. 1 in customer satisfaction among national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) for eight years running (1999 – 2007). For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.