Wingstop Raises Money To Fight Hunger

Dec. 23, 2008 - PRLog -- DALLAS. –  Wingstop recently ran an eight-week campaign to fight hunger with the rallying cry, ‘Help Wingstop Stop Hunger’. System-wide, Wingstop raised over $24,000 in its first ever fund raising event for Feeding America, the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States, which was named the Wingstop national charity earlier in 2008.

Odessa, Texas, population 96,948, may be a small west Texas town in the heart of the Texas oil fields, but it has a heart of gold when it comes to helping others. The Odessa Wingstop, owned and operated by Riley Williams, finished in the top position among all Wingstop locations nationwide in the campaign.  The top five fund raising locations were in: Odessa, Texas: Fort Worth, Texas (on Eastchase); Elk Grove, Calif.; Ferguson, Mo.; and Fort Worth, Texas (on Western Circle).

The Odessa Wingstop gathered over $2,400 by collecting 1,959 donations from Wingstop guests during the two-month campaign. With Feeding America’s corporate alliance in the food industry, funds raised in Odessa will  be leveraged into a staggering 38,992 meals.

When asked why he chose to have his location participate in the optional charity campaign, Williams said it was primarily because of his religious background.

“It doesn’t matter what religion you are, all great religions require you to share what you have with those in need. We are excited that we can be useful in helping so many people that might live in an area that does not have as strong of an economy as ours,”  said Williams.

Sonja Gutierrez, manager of the 13-person restaurant team said they used the campaign as a team building exercise, encouraging and reminding each other to emphasize the campaign during daily pre-shift meetings.

“We had an opportunity to make a difference. We stressed to all our guests just how far their donations would go with $1 equaling 16 meals and $3 equaling 48 meals. That number is just amazing,” said Gutierrez. “We won because our guests are great people. We made it a point to ask every guest – even regular repeat customers and they kept coming back and they just kept giving!”


About Wingstop:
Wingstop offers restaurants with a nostalgic, aviation-themed atmosphere where the sole focus is on chicken wings, always starting with fresh wings, cooked to order in nine proprietary flavors.   The chain also serves boneless wing strips that are made from 100 percent all-white meat chicken breast coated with a proprietary batter and breading.  Wingstop features nine wing flavors, including Original Hot, Cajun, Atomic, Mild, Teriyaki, Lemon Pepper, Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesan, and Hickory Smoked BBQ. The wings are always made-to-order and served steaming hot. Customers can also choose from homemade side dishes including fresh-cut seasoned fries, bourbon baked beans, potato salad, creamy cole slaw, vegetable sticks, rolls and assorted dipping sauces.

Wingstop has more than 650 restaurants either open or under development in 32 states and consistently tops industry growth rankings. Wingstop recently won an American Business Award for Best Overall Company and is 125th on Entrepreneur’s 2008 Franchise 500 list and was chosen Wing King at the 2006 National Buffalo Wing Festival.  Troy Aikman, three-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame quarterback, has served as the chain’s national spokesman since 2003. Aikman extended his contract in 2006 for three years, as Wingstop has posted 21 consecutive quarters of comp store sales increases since the partnership.

About Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network)
Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks operate 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit www.feedingamerica.org.