Papa Murphy’s Partners With CBS EcoMedia To Fund New Backpacks Filled With School Supplies For 1,200 Sacramento-Area Students

September 17, 2014 /3BL Media/ - More than 16 million children in the United States – 22 percent of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level. Many of these families can’t afford to buy school necessities for their children. Teachers routinely step in and spend money out of their own pockets purchasing the supplies necessary for their students.

Papa Murphy’s, the fifth largest pizza chain in the country, is addressing this issue by funding the distribution of free backpacks filled with school-ready supplies to 1,200 low income Saracramento-area students. The funding for the supplies was made possible thanks to Papa Murphy’s participation in CBS EcoMedia’s EducationAd program.

EcoMedia’s national non-profit partner, the Kids In Need Foundation, provided the school supplies and backpacks through its School Ready Supplies Program. 

"Awareness that not all children go to school with a backpack full of school supplies is growing,” said Dave Smith, executive director of the Kids In Need Foundation. “Papa Murphy’s is stepping up to break down this barrier that prevents many kids from keeping pace with their classmates. We appreciate CBS EcoMedia's leadership in this area. They understand students' need for supplies, as well as the fact that with supplies, students' classroom behavior improves, grades go up, absenteeism goes down, and kids feel they have a better chance of achieving in the classroom because of this support." 

Papa Murphy’s participated in a special assembly today where they personally distributed the backpacks to surprised students at John D. Sloat Elementary School. Hosts of today’s event included Local Papa Murphy’s Franchise owners. Students then enjoyed a Papa Murphy’s pizza party.

“Being able to provide backpacks and school supplies for children is extremely important to Papa Murphy's,” said Greg Wellington, Sacramento Papa Murphy’s franchise owner. “We understand the needs of children and are happy to help in whichever way possible. We look forward to continuing our relationship in the community with these local schools.”

“Papa Murphy’s is providing the basic educational tools these students need to set them up to succeed this school year and help them achieve their academic goals,” said Paul Polizzotto, president and founder of CBS EcoMedia. “Having a positive impact on the community is so important to Papa Murphy’s. We’re grateful for their support of The Kids In Need Foundation through our EducationAd program.” 

About Papa Murphy's
Papa Murphy's Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRSH) is a franchisor and operator of the largest Take 'N' Bake pizza chain in the United States, selling uncooked pizzas that customers bake at home. The Company was founded in 1981 and currently operates over 1,400 franchised and corporate-owned fresh pizza stores in 38 States, Canada and United Arab Emirates. Papa Murphy's core purpose is to bring all families together through food people love with a goal to create fun, convenient and fulfilling family dinners. In addition to scratch-made pizzas, the Company offers a growing menu of grab 'n' go items, including salads, sides and desserts. For more information, visit www.papamurphys.com. Find Papa Murphy’s on Facebook at www.facebook.com/papamurphyspizza.

About The Kids In Need Foundation
The Kids In Need Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1995.  The Foundation’s mission is to prepare children to learn and succeed by providing free school supplies to students most in need. Its National Network of Resource Centers includes 32 facilities where teachers from low-income schools go to obtain free school supplies for their students. School supply giveaways in communities not served by Resource Centers are accommodated through the School Ready Supplies program, and students who have gone through natural disasters are helped to get back to their normal routines with new backpacks and supplies through the Second Responder program.  In addition, two Teacher Grant programs award preK-12 educators with funding to provide innovative learning experiences for students. The Kids In Need Foundation has distributed more than $550 million in school supplies since its founding, directly benefiting 3.6 million students and more than 120,000 teachers annually, and has awarded $1.5 million in grants to teachers.  Kids In Need has earned the Gold GuideStar Exchange Seal, demonstrating its commitment to transparency, and has consistently received high ratings from Charity Navigator, indicating that it operates in a fiscally responsible way and outperforms most other charities in America.  For more information, visit www.kinf.org.  Join Kids In Need Foundation on Twitter at twitter.com/kidsinneed and Facebook at facebook.com/kidsinneed.

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.
At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002.  In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media. 

Through our patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide.  In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change.  Please visit ecomediacbs.com, like us at facebook.com/EcoMediaCBS or follow us at Twitter.com/EcoMediaCBS.

By participating in EcoMedia’s EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd advertising programs, EcoMedia’s advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will have a beneficial effect upon the environment, health and/or education within local communities.  EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services.