Sub joint pays it forward
Published 9:24 pm Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Jersey Mike’s Subs in North Suffolk joined the chain’s stores across the country to donate 100 percent of Wednesday’s sales to a local charity.
The daylong event capped the company’s Month of Giving, franchisee Martin Anderson said.
“Every Jersey Mike’s throughout the country picks a charity,” he said. “Ours is CHKD (The Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters). We rotate ours (year to year) between medical, military and ministry.”
Ryan Gibbons, the manager, estimated sales throughout the day at the College Drive store would tip $2,000. By mid-afternoon, they sat at around $1,400.
Across Jersey Mike’s 10 South Hampton Roads locations, “our goal every year is to raise at least $20,000 just for the day,” Anderson said.
“Hopefully we’ll exceed that (this year), but we feel comfortable we’ll average $2,000 per store.”
During the rest of March, customers are encouraged to donate to the campaign, receiving a coupon in return if they do.
Last year, nationwide, the chain raised more than $2.1 million for more than 100 different charities, the company’s website states.
The benefit since the program started five years ago exceeds $5 million.
In North Suffolk, Gibbons said a lot of the store’s success “comes down to execution, as far as the staff (is concerned).”
The large volume of customers and the willingness of them to donate are also important factors, according to Gibbons.
The store is in a very generous area, said Clark Stallings, also a franchisee. “We normally excel any time we do fundraising,” he said.
Giving back is a “core value” of the company, Stallings added. It starts with the chief executive officer “and flows right down,” he said.
“We enjoy doing it and we are blessed to be a part of it,” Stallings said.