Industry News | September 11, 2012
Taco Bell Foundation Names Winners of "Camp Taco Bell"
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Many Americans are unaware that one in four U.S. high school students fail to graduate in four years.
This is a statistic close to the hearts and minds of the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens and its Graduate to Go initiative, which continues to invest in America's youth by helping motivate teenagers to stay in school.
As part of the Foundation's "Camp Taco Bell" business leadership program, 90 teenagers from local Boys & Girls Clubs across Southern California teamed up with Taco Bell leadership to compete in the kitchen—developing and marketing new Taco Bell menu items.
The winning team of five teens from the Carson Boys & Girls Club received a combined total of $15,000 in scholarships and grants to fund their futures.
Their "Live Large Burrito" claimed victory in a final "taste-off" held at the Los Angeles Taco Bell restaurant located at 6254 Lexington Ave., where customers voted with their mouths on their favorite teen-created menu item.
"To be able to create something for Taco Bell and see it become a reality—a real product sold in an actual restaurant—is beyond exciting. My team worked very hard and we are honored that Taco Bell selected us as the 'Camp Taco Bell' winner," says 16-year-old Reign Ross-Elliott Rolland, one of the "Camp Taco Bell" scholarship recipients. "To have this real-world experience and to have the support and encouragement from the Taco Bell Foundation is invaluable."
Through its Graduate to Go fundraiser in June, the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, with support from participating Taco Bell restaurants nationwide, raised $4.2 million.
The money raised will be used to award grants to more than 350 organizations that support programs designed to inspire teens to graduate high school.
"For 20 years, the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens has found its purpose in serving America's teens because they are our customers, employees, and family members," says Greg Creed, CEO of Taco Bell. "One of the best ways we can give back to our youth is to help them become caring, educated, and productive adults, and putting a high school diploma in the hands of teenagers puts them on the right path to accomplishing their long-term goals."
QSR® magazine has always found space to report on the charitable works and deeds of members of the foodservice community. But recently it became important to us to step up our efforts, and the decision was made to consolidate these stories in one place so you, the reader, could easily learn about what the industry is doing when it comes to giving back.
Our hope is that these pages will inspire and motivate you to take up your own cause—whatever that might be—to make our world a better place.
Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's International, told readers in the very first issue of QSR magazine that "Profit is not a dirty word." But Thomas also worked tirelessly for the many charitable causes that touched his life. In so doing, he proved that running a successful business extends beyond the bottom line and that the real rewards in life are measured in a currency far greater than the dollar.
So let these stories inspire you to find your cause, if you haven't already done so. We encourage you to let us know what you're doing, so that others might follow your lead, pickup your cause, and contribute in ever more positive ways to our communities and lives.
Among the causes that QSR magazine supports is CureSearch for Children’s Cancer. CureSearch for Children’s Cancer funds the lifesaving, collaborative research of the Children’s Oncology Group, the world's largest, cooperative pediatric cancer research organization. More than 5,000 physicians, nurses and other researchers, at more than 200 hospitals in North America, treat 90 percent of children with cancer. Funding efforts by CureSearch allows children with cancer to receive world-class treatment and care close to home.
Only research cures children’s cancer. The cure rates have risen from 10% forty years ago to a 78% overall cure rate today. Our goal is 100%.
Be part of the cure. Together, we can conquer children’s cancer.
The U.S. Congress has under consideration a bill that would provide $150 million for childhood cancer research. CureSearch offers an easy email template to write your federal representatives in support of this bill. It may be the most rewarding five minutes you spend today.
