Pizza company sponsors “America’s Toughest Stage Race ^TM” and provides bike helmets to underserved youth

August 05, 2016 – LOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As part of its ongoing commitment to provide better experiences to the communities and neighborhoods where it operates, Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) will donate 500 custom-designed bike helmets to underserved youth participating in the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective (SLCBC) program. The donation complements the pizza company’s sponsorship of the Tour of Utah, a week-long professional cycling race for the best men’s teams in the world.

“Papa John’s is excited to partner with the Tour of Utah and Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective. Our love for pizza, cycling and our local community go hand-in-hand. This is a unique opportunity to help support the local economy and bring people together to enjoy the sport of cycling and the great outdoors,” said Founder, Chairman and CEO “Papa John” Schnatter. “As an avid cyclist, I’m encouraged by the good work that the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective (SLCBC) is doing to encourage kids to stay active, while also teaching important life skills and rewarding hard work. At Papa John’s, we are proud to help ensure more kids are able to benefit from the SLCBC program.”

The pizza-themed helmets will be donated to members of the SLCBC, an affiliate of Trips for Kids, a non-profit focused on providing cycling experiences for underserved youth across the country through its 75 chapter locations. The SLCBC works with local charity organizations to donate refurbished bicycles and equipment to youth who don’t have access and coordinate day-long bike rides teaching kids bike skills, self-confidence and environmental values. The Papa John’s donated helmets will feature stick-on decals to enable kids to ‘create their own’ pizza helmet with popular pizza ingredients like mushrooms and tomatoes, slices of pizza and zooming cyclists.

“We at the SLCBC are very grateful to receive these helmets from the team at Papa John’s,” said Davey Davis, Executive Director, Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective. “Every kid should get the opportunity to ride a bike, and this donation supports us in helping more kids to ride safely and have fun while doing it.”

In addition to Papa John’s bicycle helmet donation, each day before the Tour of Utah race stage begins, the Papa John’s Sign-In and Autograph Alley will provide complimentary public access for signatures and photographs with the world’s top cyclists. The pizza company will also deliver pizza to race volunteers and will supply the race’s official water bottle.

This is Papa John’s third year partnering with the Tour of Utah. More information about the race, which takes place August 1-7, can be found here.