Pizza Hut Raises $4,060.25 for the United Way of Pitt County

Pizza Hut® Raises $4060.25 for the United Way of Pitt County’s Early Literacy Program Through Pizza Hut: The Literacy Project

Donated funds to enable access to educational resources, empower teachers and inspire readers in Pitt County

Pizza Hut recently announced it raised $4060.25 to support the United Way of Pitt County’s Early Literacy Program through Pizza Hut: The Literacy Project, the restaurant company’s global commitment to literacy and reading.   

Pizza Hut engaged customers and team members in a coordinated fundraising effort from Sept. 8 through Nov. 7 to enable access to literacy resources and inspire readers in the communities it serves.  Pizza Hut has 6 locations in Pitt County, with 3 restaurants in Greenville, as well as locations in Ayden, Winterville, and Farmville.  Funds raised locally directly benefit organizations in Eastern North Carolina, including the United Way of Pitt County. 

Launched last fall on International Literacy Day, the goal for Pizza Hut: The Literacy Project is to transform the lives of 100 million people across the globe over the course of 10 years by helping them become their best through literacy and reading.

“Nearly 1 billion people in the world cannot read this sentence,” said Ryan O’Connell, Director of Operations. “Literacy and reading are bridges to opportunity, and at Pizza Hut, we believe that providing access to literacy and reading resources will help people thrive, creating more prosperous economies and communities.”

As part of the campaign, Pizza Hut teamed up with First Book – a recognized nonprofit, social sector leader in supporting equal access to education by providing new books and education resources to schools and programs that serve children in need.

All funds raised provided the United Way of Pitt County with credits to the First Book Marketplace. These credits will provide the needed purchasing power that allows organizations to select from thousands of specially curated book titles, computers, and other educational resources available for free or deeply reduced rates.

Pizza Hut has a long history of supporting literacy. The Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program, which was established by the pizza restaurant in 1984, has been inspiring young people to read for more than 30 years. Approximately 1 in 5 Americans have participated in BOOK IT!, including more than 14 million students this year in 620,000 classrooms nationwide. The BOOK IT! Program is the longest-running, corporate-supported literacy program in the country, and The Literacy Program is building on that foundation.

More information about The Literacy Project can be found at TheLiteracyProject.PizzaHut.com.