This year on September 8, International Literacy Day, Pizza Hut announced a commitment to literacy and reading by launching Pizza Hut: The Literacy Project. Building on a 30+ year legacy of supporting literacy in Pizza Hut communities through the BOOK IT! Program and our Life Unboxed promise to unlock potential, Pizza Hut is now partnering with the nonprofit organization First Book to activate a year-round fundraiser in our restaurants that will enable access to books for children in need.
The Literacy Project team wanted to announce Pizza Hut’s global commitment in a big way, so we enlisted a little help from TV Star Rico Rodriguez. He kicked off International Literacy Day with an appearance on Good Morning America calling viewers to action by asking them to visit theliteracyproject.pizzahut.com to learn more and donate.
Following the segment, The Literacy Project Team, along with Artie Starrs, President of Pizza Hut, Kyle Zimmer, President and CEO of First Book, and Rico headed uptown to Harlem, New York City, to visit some of the wonderful students of P.S. 30. The kids were treated to a pizza party delivered by Pizza Hut Team Members, received a very special visit from the United Federation of Teachers and their district superintendent, and were given a brand new book from their new friend, Rico Rodriguez. In honor of the occasion, Artie and Kyle read the book, Secret Pizza Party, to the kids before they each got a copy of their own to take home.
It’s a pretty incredible experience to watch a group of imaginative, brilliant students get pulled into the magic of a storybook together and then see their excitement when they find out that a brand new copy of that very book is waiting for each of them to take home and keep. The experience at P.S. 30 is exactly what The Literacy Project is all about. From the BOOK IT! Program to our First Book Fundraiser and all the different volunteer initiatives led by our employees in between, we are focused on one common goal: to inspire readers, empower teachers and enable access to reading and literacy for as many people as we can.
To learn more, visit theliteracyproject.pizzahut.com.