Carl's Jr.® and Hardee's® Raise More Than $650,000 to Fight Breast Cancer

By: Carl's Jr. | 0 Shares 105 Reads

'Pink Star' Restaurant Donation Program, Held in May at Both Brands, Raised Breast Cancer Awareness - and Funds - Across the Country

CARPINTERIA, Calif., July 25 // PRNewswire-FirstCall // -- Carl's Jr.® and Hardee's® restaurants across the United States raised more than $650,000 in May during a three-week, in-store fundraiser benefiting breast cancer awareness. The "Pink Star" campaign allowed guests to visit their local Carl's Jr. or Hardee's restaurant and donate monies to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF).

For each $1 donation, restaurant guests received a personalized commemorative pink Happy Star(TM) cutout to place on a restaurant lobby display. Happy Star is an icon for both the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurant chains, and pink represents breast cancer awareness. Guests who made donations also received a coupon to redeem a free beverage on a future visit. Carl's Jr. and Hardee's supplier Imaging Technologies of Atlanta, Ga. also donated the cost of all printed materials related to the Pink Star program as a show of support as the program expanded nationwide.

"We are proud to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation and humbled by the generosity of our guests who helped raised more than $650,000 for this very worthy cause," said Andrew F. Puzder, president and chief executive officer. "Each dollar donated, and each Happy Star added to our walls, showed those women and families affected by breast cancer how much we care, and how proud we are to support awareness on their behalf."

The "Pink Star" program was executed in May for the third year at Carl's Jr. It was initiated in 2005 by the Carl's Jr. franchise body, the Star Franchise Association, and expanded to a system wide Carl's Jr. promotion with company- operated restaurant support in 2006. In 2007, it expanded again to include nearly 3,000 Carl's Jr. and Hardee's franchise and company-operated restaurants across the country offering guests the chance to donate in support of breast cancer awareness through educational outreach, and mammograms for underinsured women.

The 2006 Pink Star program, supported by the Carl's Jr. Star Franchise Association and Carl's Jr. company-operated restaurants, raised more than $260,000 for the NBCF, whose mission is to save lives by increasing awareness of breast cancer through education and providing mammograms to those in need. This year, Hardee's franchise and company-operated restaurants added their store presence behind the event.

"Support from CKE Restaurants, Inc. and their Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurant locations means so much to the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the women whose lives will be saved as a result of their involvement," said NBCF president Janelle Hail. "With their ever-increasing support, we are able to expand our outreach to educate women about the importance of early detection and to provide free mammography programs for women who cannot afford them. We thank CKE, Carl's Jr., and Hardee's for their valiant efforts to save women's lives."

"We are so pleased to see the seeds planted during the 2005 season at our Carl's Jr. franchise restaurants yield this wonderful result in 2007," said Dan Gjurgevich, Star Franchise Association president. "The evolution of this program from our Carl's Jr. franchise association to a nationwide program at the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants in the U.S. is such a testament to the strength of the company and really shows how much the franchise community is valued."

According to the NBCF, more than 211,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year -- and 43,300 will die. One woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. In addition, 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and 400 will die. If detected early, the five-year survival rate exceeds 95 percent. Mammograms are among the best early-detection methods, yet 13 million U.S. women 40 years of age or older have never had a mammogram. For more information about the NBCF or to donate directly, visit http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org.

As of the first fiscal quarter ended May 21, 2007, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,022 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 43 states and in 13 countries, including 1,101 Carl's Jr.® restaurants, 1,905 Hardee's® restaurants.

SOURCE CKE Restaurants, Inc.