Smoothie King Franchises, Inc., a leading smoothie franchise company with more than 900 stores worldwide, announced a new partnership with Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people with physical challenges lead active, healthy lifestyles on Friday. Through the partnership, Smoothie King will assist CAF in its mission by funding annual grants (totaling $150,000) that provide access to much-needed adaptive sports equipment, resources and mentorship. Smoothie King’s commitment is made possible through a 25-cent donation to the organization with the sale of every newly-branded Hydrate and Help bottle of spring water. The new bottles will be available in all Smoothie King locations beginning December 26.
All-too-often, the cost of adaptive sports equipment can be prohibitive, and can serve as an obstacle that keeps those with physical disabilities on the sidelines. Beginning today, Smoothie King’s financial commitment will assist CAF in hitting their goal of fulfilling 95 percent of their grant requests across 97 different sports and activities.
“We are excited to begin our partnership with the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Both of our brands believe strongly that active lifestyles can boost self-esteem and serve as a springboard for success in life in a variety of capacities, whether you’re faced with a physical disability or not,” says Wan Kim, CEO, Smoothie King. “This partnership will expose our guests to inspirational stories of athletes who’ve beat the odds and met their goals. Hopefully, such success stories will inspire all of our guests to set and meet health and wellness goals of their own.”
“Since many insurance companies deem adaptive sports equipment ‘luxury’ items, the prices can become a problem for many physically-challenged athletes,” says Virginia Tinley, Executive Director, Challenged Athletes Foundation. “We are excited to embark on this partnership with Smoothie King to not only assist our athletes in receiving the equipment they need, but to also share CAF’s mission of helping people with physical challenges live full, active lives through participation in sports.”
In addition to the Hydrate and Help Spring Water sales, Smoothie King will be working with local franchisees and CAF athletes on additional ways of bringing this partnership to life.
