Papa John’s Pizza kicked off a new partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Wednesday, Jan. 19, by donating 20 percent of the day’s sales to the school district. The company plans to donate monthly to the district through the end of the school year.

“Our partners are extremely important to us, and not just in the financial sense,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Partnership Coordinator Phyllis Croutch said. “Knowing that the community cares about them has always been an uplift for our students and staff.”

Financially, this comes at a good time for the district, as looming severe budget cuts threaten many district operations and programs. The funds donated each month would not be restricted, Croutch said, and could be used to supplement various programs.

“We would love for them to raise enough money to put back some programs they’ve had to cut because of budget cuts,” said Jed Johnson, director of operations for Papa John’s in Charlotte.

On one designated day each month, sixteen of the area’s Papa John’s restaurants will donate 20 percent of all sales, including online orders and deliveries, to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

The Papa John’s restaurants in Raleigh have established a similar partnership with Wake County schools, and have donated about $10,000 to the school district in just two months. The amount raised Wednesday was not available by The Herald Weekly’s press deadline but will be announced at www.huntersvilleherald.com, as soon as it is available.

The next Papa John’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools day is scheduled for Feb. 16.

Participating locations
In addition to the Huntersville location at 16235 Statesville Road, 15 other Papa John’s Pizza’s joined in the fundraising partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. For the full list of participating locations, look right here:

Store No.   Zip               Address                                       Phone (704)
310            28211    6600 E. Independence Blvd.             531-0500
650           28277    8610F Camfield St.                              543-7171
651            28266    7741 Colony Rd. Ste. A2                    364-4242
660           28105    2332 Matthews Twp.                           847-8880
654           28217    11116-A S. Tryon St.                             583-3830
300          28217    4820 South Blvd.                                  522-7272
301           28210    1343 Sharon Rd. W.                             556-7171
302          28262    9327 JW Clay Blvd.                              503-5032
303          28205    6035 Hickory Grove Rd.                      531-0123
304          28204    1620 E. 4th St.                                      375-7272
309          28214    6411 Freedom Dr.                                 393-7272
312           28205    3213 Eastway Dr.                                 532-9293
1578         28269    6530 Statesville Rd.                             596-5363
1580         28215    8016-B Cambridge Commons Dr.     531-7272
307           28078    16235 Statesville Rd.                          896-7272
3583        28027    10050-A101 Edison Square Dr.         875-7284