Community July 15, 2009
Panera Bread Raises Dough
"We picked YNH because we wanted an organization with deep roots in our area, and the hospital covers our entire market area," says Tom Kelleher, joint venture partner for the Panera Bread’s 11 western Connecticut stores. "When we announced our choice to the staff, everyone responded positively because they all had a story about how YNHH helped someone they knew."
Panera Bread selected YNHH in 2008 to be the recipient of its "Operation Dough Nation," a program that collects money in a box at each register with the sign: "Share the Bread. Your contribution supports YNHH and will be matched by Panera." Panera Bread donates 50 cents for every dollar dropped in the box. Last year, this generated $30,000, $10,000 of which was earmarked as a sponsorship for the Children’s Hospital Telethon in March. Panera Bread selected YNHH to be the recipient of the program again in 2009.
Tina Lemelin, Panera Bread’s catering and marketing manager for western Connecticut, adds, "Our company has a strong commitment to charitable giving. We want to give back to the communities we are in. After looking at all the good things that YNHH does for us, our customers and our community, we knew it deserved our support."
Panera Bread has other programs that benefit YNHH. During the month of October, all 11 cafés sold "pink ribbon bagels." No, they are not pink but they are in the shape of the breast cancer awareness ribbon. For every bagel that was sold, Panera donated 25 cents to the YNHH Breast Center, raising $1,336. The company’s work on behalf of YNHH didn’t stop there. Panera Bread hosted YNHH’s Mobile Mammography Van at its North Haven location; allows the hospital to post information about events and programs on its community bulletin boards; donated money and food for Nurses Week; and has donated gift baskets for several fundraising auctions.
"We know that financial support is important but we also want to show support in other ways," says Kelleher, adding, "Besides, we couldn’t be more proud of our product so we love every opportunity to show it off!"
On January 28, 2009, Panera Bread switched its brand of coffee. To celebrate, its stores had a free coffee day — and it asked its customers, if they enjoyed the new coffee, to please donate to Operation Dough Nation. On that day, instead of matching donations 50 cents on the dollar, matches were dollar for dollar and over $2,000 was raised. Isn’t it great that Panera has provided such an easy — and delicious — way to support YNHH.
