ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) celebrated the grand opening of the Domino's Event Center at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® on Friday, Aug. 7, after committing to raise $35 million in eight years, beginning in 2015.
The Domino's Event Center is a flexible event space on the hospital campus that can be used for hospital fundraising events, patient and family activities, and entertainment.
"St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has been part of the Domino's family since 2004 and to date, we've raised more than $25 million to support the hospital's life-saving efforts," said Patrick Doyle, Domino's president and chief executive officer. "Last year we decided to get even more serious with our $35 million, eight-year commitment to the children of St. Jude. The Domino's Event Center is a magnificent facility that will be put to good use raising funds and awareness for St. Jude."
Doyle, joined by Russell Weiner, president, Domino's USA, and other Domino's representatives, celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Dr. James R. Downing, St. Jude president and chief executive officer, and Richard C. Shadyac Jr., president and chief executive officer of American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities® (ALSAC), the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. After the ribbon-cutting, patients celebrated in the Domino's Event Center with a pizza-making activity, lunch and a fastest pizza maker demonstration.
"Domino's, its leadership, staff and customers have repeatedly demonstrated their generous and heartfelt commitment to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and we are grateful for their decade-long partnership," said Shadyac. "The Domino's Event Center will stand on campus as a permanent reminder of our partnership, and will serve as a celebratory place for our patient families, partners, donors and supporters."
During last year's St. Jude Thanks and Giving® campaign, Domino's completed a three-year, $10 million commitment made to the hospital in 2012 – one year early. The first commitment helped fund the St. Jude Assessment and Triage Clinic Delivered by Domino's.
The St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign, created in 2004 by Marlo Thomas and her siblings, Terre and Tony, children of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas, asks people to "give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not" in order to help St. Jude continue its mission of finding cures and saving children. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
About Domino's Pizza®
Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, with a significant business in carryout pizza. It ranks among the world's top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of more than 11,900 stores in over 80 international markets. Domino's had global retail sales of over $8.9 billion in 2014, comprised of more than $4.1 billion in the U.S. and nearly $4.8 billion internationally. In the second quarter of 2015, Domino's had global retail sales of nearly $2.2 billion, comprised of $1.1 billion in the U.S. and $1.1 billion internationally. Its system is comprised of franchise owners who accounted for nearly 97% of Domino's stores as of the second quarter of 2015. Emphasis on technology innovation helped Domino's generate approximately 50% of U.S. sales from digital channels at the end of 2014, and reach an estimated run rate of $4.0 billion annually in global digital sales. Domino's features an ordering app lineup that covers nearly 95% of the U.S. smartphone market and has recently introduced several innovative ordering platforms, including Ford SYNC®, Samsung Smart TV® and Pebble Watch, as well as Twitter and text message using a pizza emoji. In June 2014, Domino's debuted voice ordering for its iPhone® and Android™ apps, a true technology first within traditional and e-commerce retail.
Order – www.dominos.com
Mobile – http://mobile.dominos.com
Digital Info – anyware.dominos.com
Company Info – biz.dominos.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/dominos
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/dominos
YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/dominos
About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. St. Jude has the world's best survival rates for some of the most aggressive childhood cancers, and treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since we opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade. We won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs we make, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org or following St. Jude on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150807/257007
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120814/DE55948LOGO-b
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dominos-delivers-the-dominos-event-center-at-st-jude-childrens-research-hospital-300125758.html
SOURCE Domino's Pizza
Media Relations, Jenny Fouracre, Domino's Pizza, 734-930-3620, jenny.fouracre@dominos.com
