DALLAS, Nov. 12, 2012 // PRNewswire // -- In celebration of National Young Readers Week November 12-16, Pizza Hut® and its famed BOOK IT!® Program have selected the winning Pizza Hut restaurants in the third annual BOOK IT! Big Book Giveaway. The Giveaway challenges Pizza Hut restaurants nationwide to develop creative and impactful ways to donate 500 books in their local communities as part of the program's goal to motivate children to read more and develop a lifelong love of reading.
In addition to the Big Book Giveaway, hundreds of principals are tackling the BOOK IT! Principal Challenge by committing to read an entire school day – from the first bell to the last – in celebration of National Young Readers Week. Principals in 365 cities are planning to read in creative ways such as sitting on the roof of their school, turning the school cafeteria into a library, dressing as their favorite book character, or enjoying a Pizza Hut lunch delivery.
Founded in 1989 by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, National Young Readers Week is an annual event that encourages young readers to get excited about reading. Events are hosted in schools across the country, where local officials, sports figures, public safety officers, parents and other "celebrities" from the community share their favorite stories with students to help reinforce the importance of reading and to encourage reading for enjoyment.
"National Young Readers Week is a perfect time to celebrate both reading and giving back to local communities in a meaningful way," said Shelley Morehead, BOOK IT! Program Administrator. "Our Pizza Hut restaurants have thought hard about how to develop fun and creative ways to distribute books to children in deserving communities."
For the BOOK IT! Big Book Giveaway, 20 of the 6,000 Pizza Hut restaurants nationwide were chosen as winners. Each restaurant winner developed a plan on how to distribute 500 books to children in their communities. These restaurants focused on how the donation of books would impact their community and support literacy tied to the BOOK IT! Program, which is in its 28th year and is reaching more than 14 million young people this school year.
Highlighted below are a few of the winning BOOK IT! Big Book Giveaway Concepts:
In addition to the book giveaway, the BOOK IT! Program is celebrating National Young Reader's Week by teaming up with One More Story to feature a narrated book on www.bookitprogram.com during November 12 – 16. View the narrated stories at www.bookitprogram.com/teachers/nyrw.
The BOOK IT! Program is part of the "Share a Slice of Hope" movement at Pizza Hut. Share a Slice of Hope encourages consumers and Pizza Hut employees nationwide to help others through the company's three philanthropic pillars: children's literacy, world hunger relief and community involvement.
One More Story is an online library of the best of classic and contemporary children's picture books. Each book is narrated by a different professional actor with original music created by Robby Merkin, former music director of Sesame Street. One More Story was named a top ten digital resource by School Library Journal and has won numerous awards. Visit www.onemorestory.com for more information.
In 1985, Pizza Hut established the BOOK IT! National Reading Incentive Program to motivate children to read more and help them develop a lifelong love of reading. BOOK IT! is a six-month program for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. For more information, visit www.bookitprogram.com or keep up with BOOK IT! via its social media outlets @BOOKITprogram or Facebook.com/BOOKIT1985.
Pizza Hut, America's Favorite Pizza, delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant. The only pizza company to be named a top ten franchise in 2012 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Pizza Hut began 50 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, and today operates nearly 10,000 restaurants in more than 90 countries. Pizza Hut, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM). To check out what's new at Pizza Hut visit PizzaHut.com, or keep up with the brand via its social media channels at social.PizzaHut.com.
Doug Terfehr
972.338.6992
doug.terfehr@yum.com
Kristin Wertz
972.338.7719
kristin.wertz@yum.com
SOURCE Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant in the world.