Marco’s pizza franchise builds strong community ties by establishing nonprofit to assist neighbors in need
Marco’s Pizza spotlighted the Slice of Support program during the recent annual convention in San Antonio. Not only is the program a great way for Marco’s to support its employees, but it is also a vehicle for franchisees to support their communities’ charitable efforts through partnerships and fundraising events.
Marco’s Pizza® has a strong history of being an employer of choice, and one way we live out that mission is by rallying behind employees in their greatest times of need — whether they have lost their home due to a natural disaster or they have lost a loved one after a long-term illness or an accident.
The Marco’s Slice of Support Program was founded in 2015 with the goal of providing financial support for Marco’s Pizza® team members facing personal or family hardship as a result of a catastrophic event.
“As a company, when you become relevant in people’s lives and you are making a difference, you are serving your community in more ways than just serving them pizza and beverages. You are supporting the community that supports your store, and you see a deeper connection for consumers in that market to your brand and your stores,” says Marco’s Pizza COO Bryon Stephens. “That is the side benefit of stepping out and doing the right thing. We should give back to the very communities that support us in such a big way.”
Marco’s is an employer of choice
Bryon serves on the Board of Directors for Slice of Support, along with franchisees and other employees from the Marco’s corporate office. The inspiration for the program came about after a Marco’s employee was killed in a head-on collision a few years ago. The employee left behind three daughters, and the company stepped up to raise money to help cover funeral expenses. “It was one of those moments where we knew right away what we needed to do,” Bryon says. “We took care of her funeral costs and related expenses, but more importantly we put money aside to help take care of her children.”
It became apparent, Bryon says, that Marco’s could better serve its employees by creating a charity to respond to crises. “Marco’s has always stepped up in times of need and done the responsible thing by helping out all we could,” Bryon says. “We decided that establishing a nonprofit could do that in a more efficient way, and could also help the causes of other nonprofit organizations in the community.”
“We set out on a mission of being a pizza brand of choice, an employer of choice and a business partner of choice in every market we serve,” he adds. “This is just a small piece of living up to our mission. Employees are extremely proud and honored to work for a company that puts people first.”
Marco’s Slice of Support helps local charities
As a nonprofit organization, Slice of Support also supports a variety of charitable causes that are important to Marco’s Pizza and our guests. One such initiative is BackPacks for Kids, which is facilitated by The Greater Cleveland (Ohio) Food Bank. BackPacks for Kids partners with schools and nonprofit after-school programs to provide low-income children with food each weekend when they do not have access to the free and reduced-price school lunches available to them during the week.
The Marco’s Slice of Support program is sponsoring a family 5K run/walk fundraiser in the Cleveland market this fall, and Slice of Support representatives were on hand during our recent convention in San Antonio to illustrate how franchisees can organize similar fundraisers in their market to benefit local nonprofits.
Employees may donate to the Slice of Support program in a number of ways, including payroll deduction. Marco’s is launching a year-long matching fund program this year that will match dollar for dollar all employee donations made to Slice of Support.
Marco’s prides itself on being an employer of choice that is connected to the community by supporting local organizations, nonprofits and schools.
Build your success on ours
Founded in Toledo, Ohio, in 1978, Marco’s Pizza has become one of the fastest-growing large pizza franchises in the nation. Our homemade recipes and fresh ingredients are in the Italian tradition, and we are the only top 20 pizza franchise in the country that was founded by a native Italian. We are led by veteran pizza executives who have experience growing brands and supporting franchisees as they grow their businesses.
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