DALLAS, Nov. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration
of National Young Readers Week November
12-16, Pizza Hut® and its famed BOOK IT!® Program have
selected the winning Pizza Hut 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 and develop a
lifelong love of reading.
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In addition to the Big Book Giveaway, hundreds of principals are
tackling the BOOK IT! Principal Challenge by committing to read an
entire school day – from the first bell to the last – in
celebration of National Young Readers Week. Principals in 365
cities are planning to read in creative ways such as sitting on the
roof of their school, turning the school cafeteria into a library,
dressing as their favorite book character, or enjoying a Pizza Hut
lunch delivery.
Founded in 1989 by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the
Library of Congress, National Young Readers Week is an annual event
that encourages young readers to get excited about reading. Events
are hosted in schools across the country, where local officials,
sports figures, public safety officers, parents and other
"celebrities" from the community share their favorite stories with
students to help reinforce the importance of reading and to
encourage reading for enjoyment.
"National Young Readers Week is a perfect time to celebrate both
reading and giving back to local communities in a meaningful way,"
said Shelley Morehead, BOOK IT!
Program Administrator. "Our Pizza Hut restaurants have thought hard
about how to develop fun and creative ways to distribute books to
children in deserving communities."
For the BOOK IT! Big Book Giveaway, 20 of the 6,000 Pizza Hut
restaurants nationwide were chosen as winners. Each restaurant
winner developed a plan on how to distribute 500 books to children
in their communities. 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 and is
reaching more than 14 million young people this school year.
Highlighted below are a few of the winning BOOK IT! Big Book
Giveaway Concepts:
- Celebration, Florida:
Pizza Hut team members hosted a Big Book Giveaway celebration event
with donated books, lunch, bowling and BOOK IT! goodie bags for
more than 100 families at the Children's Home Society of Florida
Foster Friends Program. The Children's Home helps build and
strengthen families, focusing on abused and neglected children. The
Pizza Hut celebration event was Sunday,
November 11 at Primrose Bowl in Orlando, FL.
- Dallas, Texas: Pizza
Hut team members will donate books to Mi Escuelita Preschool, which
provides early childhood education for low income at-risk children.
Pizza Hut will host a children's reading time and pizza lunch at
the preschool on Friday, November
16.
- Sacramento, California:
Pizza Hut restaurants will celebrate National Young Readers Week by
donating books to the Sacramento Children's Home. The Children's
Home is a comprehensive child and family service organization,
providing services to the most vulnerable children and families in
Sacramento. The Big Book Giveaway
event at Sacramento Children's Home is Tuesday, November 13.
- Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania: 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 on Tuesday, November 13. Pizza Hut will also hold a
BOOK IT! party at WC Bryant Elementary on Friday, November 16.
- Indianapolis, Indiana:
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. The Big Book
Giveaway event is on Tuesday, November
13.
- Atlanta, Georgia: Pizza
Hut team members will host a Big Book Giveaway at the Andrew and
Walter Young Family YMCA of Metro Atlanta. Pizza Hut restaurants
are partnering with Ambassador Andrew
Young and YMCA to distribute the books within the community
on November 14.
In addition to the book giveaway, the BOOK IT! Program is
celebrating National Young Reader's Week by teaming up with
One More Story to feature a narrated
book on www.bookitprogram.com during November 12 – 16. View the narrated stories at
www.bookitprogram.com/teachers/nyrw.
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.
About One More Story
One More Story is an online
library of the best of classic and contemporary children's picture
books. Each book is narrated by a different professional actor
with original music created by Robby Merkin, former music director
of Sesame Street. One More Story was named a top ten digital
resource by School Library Journal and has won numerous
awards. Visit www.onemorestory.com for more information.
About BOOK IT!
In 1985, Pizza Hut established the BOOK IT! National Reading
Incentive Program to motivate children to read more and help them
develop a lifelong love of reading. BOOK IT! is a six-month program
for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. For more
information, visit www.bookitprogram.com or keep up with BOOK IT!
via its social media outlets @BOOKITprogram or
Facebook.com/BOOKIT1985.
About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, America's Favorite Pizza, delivers more pizza, pasta
and wings than any other restaurant. The only pizza company to be
named a top ten franchise in 2012 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Pizza
Hut began 50 years ago in Wichita,
Kansas, and today operates nearly 10,000 restaurants in more
than 90 countries. Pizza Hut, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands,
Inc. (NYSE: YUM). To check out what's new at Pizza Hut
visit PizzaHut.com, or keep up with the brand via its social
media channels at social.PizzaHut.com.
Media
Contacts
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Doug
Terfehr
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Kristin
Wertz
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972.338.6992
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972.338.7719
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doug.terfehr@yum.com
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kristin.wertz@yum.com
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SOURCE Pizza Hut