SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Hot Stuff Foods has created an umbrella model for its charitable initiatives called Hot Stuff Warm Hearts.
With so many opportunities to give back and help those in need, said Hot Stuff's vice president of marketing Roxanne Van Loon, we have established Warm Hearts as our primary charity. A Warm Hearts logo, sloganHot Stuff Warm Heartst-shirts and other paraphernalia have been created to promote our company's and franchisees efforts to support our communities. Darla Fjerstad, one of Hot Stuff's marketing managers, oversees the charitable [image-nocss] initiative. With over $2 million raised and close to a million already projected in the next few years, there's a steady beat of warm hearts both giving and receiving.
In 1996, Hot Stuff Foods (then Orion Food Systems), spearheaded a charity golf event featuring premier players from the PGA Champions Tour to raise money for Children's Home Society (CHS), a nonprofit organization that provides a home, school and therapy for children with emotional or behavioral problems. Foster care and adoption services are provided for children who are unable to return to their birth families. The Hot Stuff Challenge teed off again and hit two milestones as the event set a new record net estimated at just over $350,000. This single event giving triggered another milestone toppling more than $2 million (estimated at more than $2.25 million) for CHS since its inaugural debut.
The annual Hot Stuff Challenge is part of the Hot Stuff Foods commitment to give back to its community. Two years ago, Hot Stuff expanded its philanthropic efforts through a collaborative program with First Premier Bank, Sioux Falls for victims of the Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Hot Stuff doubled employee contributions to the Red Cross. First Premier Bank then matched those funds resulting in a four-fold increase of the employees' original donations.
Last year, Hot Stuff Foods corporate and its employees teamed up to support the new Sanford Children's Hospital, a $40 million state-of-the-art health care facility endowed by local businessman and philanthropist, T. Denny Sanford. In 2006, an additional Hot Stuff Foods corporate contribution of a half million dollars over a 10-year period was announced by the company.
Hot Stuff Foods' efforts are not limited only to monetary donations. A children's literacy program is one of several community-based activities that Hot Stuff Foods franchisees can offer. The Forest of Discovery Book Reader Program rewards students with free personal size pan pizzas and/or discounts on family size pizzas. Students nationwide have received more than 85,000 free pizzas, according to Van Loon.
Hot Stuff Foods franchises or licenses its branded food conceptsHot Stuff Food On the Go, SmashHits Deli, C-Street Bakery, StoneWilly Pizzahouse, Hot Stuff Grill, Game Time Sports Grillin more than 1,600 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Hot Stuff Foods also offers Lettieri's Food To Go through distributors across the United States.
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