ATLANTA – December 7, 2016 – Hooters today announced it raised more than $725,000 this October by asking America to #GiveAHoot in the fight against breast cancer during its month-long fundraising campaign in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The 2016 Give A Hoot campaign directly benefits the V Foundation for Cancer Research, one of the nation’s leading cancer research funding organizations, as well as other local beneficiaries through the Kelly Jo Dowd Breast Cancer Research Fund. Part of the Hooters Community Endowment Fund (HOO.C.E.F.), the Kelly Jo Dowd Breast Cancer Research Fund was established in honor of the late Kelly Jo Dowd, an original Hooters Girl and the 1995 Hooters Calendar Cover Girl.
Hooters presented a check to The V Foundation for $650,000 during the 2016 Men’s Jimmy V Basketball Classic held at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Dec. 6.
The overall top Hooters franchisee was Restaurants of America with restaurants in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Minnesota raising more than $41,000 to once again claim the title of top-performing franchise ownership group. Hootwinc, with restaurants in California, Oregon and Washington, raised more than $37,000 and Hooters, Inc., with restaurants in Florida, Illinois, Nevada and New York, raised more than $36,000 as the second and third top-performing franchisee ownership groups, respectively.
Hooters Girls from across the United States worked together to make this October fundraising period successful, including 2016 Miss Hooters International Sable Robbert, who made national and local media appearances while engaging with local communities to help spread awareness.
During this year’s fundraising campaign, Hooters guests were invited to contribute to the cause by grabbing a pink bracelet with donation or by enjoying one of several ‘pink drinks’ with proceeds benefiting the campaign. For every 2017 Hooters Calendar purchased, Hooters donated $1 toward the Give A Hoot fundraising effort.
Inspired by Hooters very own Kelly Jo Dowd, who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2007, Hooters Girls have now raised more than $4 million over the years to support breast cancer research, much of it through the grant in Kelly Jo’s name to the V Foundation. These grants have helped fund a range of cancer research from therapeutic discovery to personalized cancer treatment to identifying stage-specific metastasis characteristics. The annual fundraising effort honors Kelly Jo and furthers her mission to educate all women, especially her extended family consisting of some 300,000 current and former Hooters Girls, about the importance of early detection and prevention.
The V Foundation has funded more than $170 million in cancer research grants nationwide with 100 percent of direct cash donations funding cancer research. Due to generous donors, the Foundation has an endowment that covers administrative expenses. For more information about the V Foundation, please visit www.jimmyv.org.
Although Breast Cancer Awareness Month has ended, contributions can still be made online at hooters.com/give.
Photo Credit: Joe Faraoni / ESPN Images