Chili's Grill & Bar announced Monday the start of its longstanding, annual fundraiser benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
To celebrate the 13th year of the Create-A-Pepper campaign, the brand partnered with Grammy Award-winning band Lady Antebellum to raise awareness and encourage fans and guests to lend a voice for the lifesaving work of St. Jude.
"St. Jude has always been an organization that we are quick to jump in and support," says Lady Antebellum’sHillary Scott. "As a band and as parents, we love the work they do for kids fighting really tough stuff like cancer. It's something really close to our hearts and we're excited to be part of what Chili's is doing to help advocate for these kids and their families."
In addition to teaming up with Lady Antebellum this year, Chili's set out to build a larger community around this noteworthy cause by:
Incorporating Ziosk tabletop technology, available on every restaurant table, to make it easy for guests to donate and interactively learn more about the campaign; providing the opportunity for "My Chili's Rewards" loyalty program members to receive bonus points for their donations; expanding the campaign to Canada for the first time so guests visiting more than 1,250 restaurants across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada can participate.
"The Create-A-Pepper for St. Jude campaign is our favorite time of the year," says Wyman Roberts, CEO and president of Brinker International and president of Chili's Grill & Bar. "The passion our team members have for making an impact on St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, its patients and their families is something that can be felt when you walk into the restaurant. I'm honored to be a part of an amazing team of people who are raising funds so St. Jude can focus on what matters most—finding cures and saving children."
Through Sept. 14, guests at participating Chili's restaurants can support the lifesaving work at St. Jude in several ways:
Decorate a signature chili-pepper shaped coloring sheet and share the design on social media using the hashtag #CreateAPepper; add a donation to the check using the tabletop tablet located on every restaurant table; purchase a Create-A-Pepper T-shirt for $12 or a pair of St. Jude branded sunglasses for $5 when dining in restaurant; complete St. Jude related challenges through the "My Chili's Rewards" loyalty program; dine at Chili's September 14 for Donate Profits Day, when the brand donates profits, at least $100,000, to St. Jude.
Chili's has partnered with St. Jude since 2002 and raised more than $54 million, one of the largest single-partner donations in the history of the hospital. What began as a seven-restaurant fundraiser with only crayons and chili-pepper shaped coloring sheets as a way for guests to donate grew into a national fundraising campaign that takes place at more than 1,250 Chili's every September as part of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
