Round It Up Americar (RIUA), which invites restaurant guests to "round up" their checks to the nearest dollar and donate the remaining change to local and national organizations, including the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, is pleased to announce that The Breakers Palm Beach, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Barney's Beanery, and Parco Holdings LLC, which operates a half-dozen Hooters restaurants in California and Hawaii, have come on board as Mission Partners.
"We're very excited to welcome these restaurants into the Round It Up America family," says Harald Herrmann, who along with Jennifer Weerheim, co-founded Round It Up America in 2010. "Each time a new restaurant, be it an individual operator or a multi-unit brand, becomes a Mission Partner it helps elevate our efforts in aiding those who are less fortunate."
The Breakers, an iconic oceanfront resort in heart of Palm Beach, Florida, and the very first resort to become a RIUA Mission Partner, will invite guests to round up their checks in all eight of their distinctive restaurants. Whether enjoying Sunday Brunch in The Circle or meeting for drinks and appetizers in the swank confines of HMF, guests who round up their check to the nearest dollar will be helping the Lung Cancer Alliance. The Washington DC-based organization is the only national non-profit dedicated solely to providing support and advocacy to people living with or at risk for the disease through advocacy, education, and support.
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, with 12 locations throughout Southern California plus a Bay Area location, will support Teach for America (TFA) with funds raised through Round It Up America. TFA, a non-profit national teacher corps of college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years and raise student achievement in public schools, believes that all kids, regardless of where their geographic location, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, deserve access to a great education.
Barney's Beanery, whose original West Hollywood location opened in 1920, has six restaurants in the Los Angeles area. A favorite destination for Hollywood celebrities, moguls, and musicians, Barney's Beanery is known for comfort food. Guests who round it up at this L.A. landmark will help support the efforts of the American Red Cross and The Marine Corps Scholarship Fund.
With a portfolio of six Hooters restaurants, including five California locations and a single unit on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, Parco Holdings will donate its donations from Round It Up America to the Poverello House and The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Out of every dollar donated to Round It Up America, a minimum of 91 cents goes to the charities it serves. Mission Partners are allowed to vet and select organizations in their communities or with a national prominence that will benefit from the generosity of their guests. In addition, they can allocate 75 percent of their funds to charities of their choices, while the remaining 25 percent benefit the American Red Cross Natural Disaster Relief Fund and the Educational Foundations of the State and National Restaurant Associations for their ProStart programs.
"We anticipate that 2014 will be our best year to date when it comes to signing on new Mission Partners," says Jennifer Weerheim, co-founder of Round It Up America. "People are beginning to realize that collective giving-a nickel here, a quarter there-can be very powerful. Rounding up to the nearest dollar is one of the simplest and most affordable ways to make a difference."
The United States boasts more than 1 million restaurants. If just 1 percent of those restaurants were to raise $25 a day from guests rounding up their checks it would equal $7.5 million a month or $90 million a year. The shelves of food banks would be full, shelters would have the adequate supplies needed, and less people would go hungry as a result. For every dollar donated, 91 cents goes directly to the cause with just 7 percent allocated for administrative costs.
