In 2021, The Papa John’s Foundation for Building Community launched The Papa John’s Foundation for Building Community Fund, which empowers our restaurant team members and U.S. franchise partners to support the communities they serve by applying for grants on behalf of local organizations addressing one or more of the Foundation’s focus areas – youth leadership and entrepreneurship, food security and food waste reduction.
In its first year, the Building Community Fund provided nearly $1 million to more than 100 organizations based in 40 U.S. cities. Nominated by Papa Johns franchise partner Oney Bayside, LLC, Community Tampa Bay received $10,000 to support their work in youth leadership.
Building a More Inclusive Tampa Bay Area
With a community presence going back to the 1940s, Community Tampa Bay equips young leaders with the tools to have hard conversations with others who don't look like them, live like them or love like them to create a community free from all forms of discrimination.
Organizations like Community Tampa Bay struggled to keep their programs afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. New donors like the Papa John’s Foundation for Building Community have helped Community Tampa Bay and seven other organizations in the Tampa Bay area fulfill their mission to help serve the community, injecting $80,000 across the area.
At the cornerstone of Community Tampa Bay’s work to create inclusive leaders is their immersive ANYTOWN® residential program. This summer camp runs for five days at the start of the summer and continues with a year of ongoing opportunities for service and leadership development utilizing the knowledge, skills and attitudes developed at ANYTOWN. Since 1991, over 5,000 delegates and volunteers have graduated from the program.
Jenn Garner, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Papa Johns, experienced the excitement of ANYTOWN first-hand, joining Eric Vaughn, Program Director at Community Tampa Bay to take part in the activities at ANYTOWN® 2022 and see the positive impact of Community Tampa Bay’s work brought to life.
