Largest franchisee offers last-minute contribution to help reach $1 million goal
DURHAM, N.C. (Feb. 25, 2009) – Hardee’s in the Triangle donated $35,000 to Duke Children’s Hospital during the 15th MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM Radiothon. More than 70 Hardee’s restaurants in the Triangle, Rocky Mount, Durham and Fayetteville area participated to help raise funds for the annual fundraiser.
Hardee’s has been a long-time supporter and advocate of the Duke Children’s Hospital since becoming one of the major corporate donors to help build the Children’s Health Center in 2000.
On the final day of the radiothon, it appeared that the fundraiser might come up just short of its $1 million goal. Hardee’s largest franchisee, Boddie-Noell Enterprises, stepped in at 5:15 p.m. to offer an additional $5,000 to bridge the gap. The contribution was dedicated to a local Hardee’s employee whose family experiences with Duke Children’s Hospital gave her first-hand knowledge of the hospital’s commitment to patient care and state-of-the-art medical treatment.
"We are incredibly thankful to Hardee's and Boddie-Noell Enterprises for the support and momentum they gave the MIX 101.5 Radiothon this year," said Kristen Johnson, major gifts officer at Duke Children's Hospital and director of the MIX 101.5 Radiothon. "Miracles will continue to happen at Duke Children's thanks to the generosity and leadership from the Hardee's team and the customers who ordered a miracle combo meal.”
The MIX 101.5 Radiothon for Duke Children’s Hospital began on Feb. 10 at 6 a.m. and concluded on Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. In addition to donating a portion of breakfast, lunch and dinner combo meal sales to Duke Children’s Hospital, Hardee’s provided breakfast to phone bank volunteers and matched contributions made by listeners during the Hardee’s Miracle Breakfast Hour from 8 to 9 a.m. each morning of the radiothon.
“We were honored to step in and offer help to the radiothon to reach their goal of $1 million on the last day,” said Jerry Allsbrook, chief marketing officer for Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the largest Hardee’s franchisee in North Carolina as well as the U.S. “Hardee’s was born in North Carolina and has always been committed to supporting our community and organizations like Duke Children’s Hospital that help provide invaluable services to people across our state and country.”
The MIX 101.5 Radiothon for Duke Children's Hospital raises more money per capita than any other Children's Miracle Network Radiothon in the U.S. and Canada. This year’s event raised more than $1 million to support cutting-edge medical services and programs for pediatric patients and their families. Money raised during the radiothon supports valuable programs and services for their patients and their families, including:
- Preoperative educational brochures, teaching dolls and videos for children.
- A reading program to promote early literacy skills among children at the highest risk for school failure.
- Craft supplies for Child and Adolescent Life program.-Enuresis alarms for the urology patients.
- Meal and parking passes and phone cards to assist low-income families with local needs while
About Boddie-Noell Enterprises
Boddie-Noell Enterprises (BNE) is a diversified family-owned business engaged primarily in restaurants and land development. BNE is the largest Hardee’s franchise operator in the United States with 341 restaurants across four states. For more information about the company, visit www.bneinc.com.
About Hardee’s
Celebrating more than 48 years in the quick-service industry, Hardee’s Food Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: CKR) of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the third fiscal quarter ended November 3, 2008, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,110 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and in 14 countries, including 1,185 Carl’s Jr. restaurants and 1,912 Hardee’s restaurants. For more information, or to find a Hardee’s near you, go to www.ckr.com or www.hardees.com.
About Duke Children's Hospital
With three primary care clinics and 28 subspecialties, Duke Children's Hospital & Health Center provides comprehensive health care from routine immunizations to the most advanced medical care available for devastating childhood illnesses—for children from birth through young adulthood. Our mission is to provide excellence in the clinical care of infants and children, innovation in basic and applied research, leadership in education of health care professionals and advocacy for children’s health. We're always discovering new ways to deliver care, new knowledge to pursue, new challenges to meet. For more information on Duke Children's visit www.dukechildrens.org.