The Salvation Army and Panera Franchisee Launch Fruitful December Partnership
Covelli Enterprises and the whole Covelli Family have been committed to giving back for years
You might say philanthropy is baked right into the DNA of Panera Bread’s largest franchisee, Covelli Enterprises.
The company, and the Covelli family behind it, believe so wholeheartedly in giving back that it will pool much of its Panera markets’ fundraising efforts the entire month of December to benefit The Salvation Army.
The Covelli family has a long history supporting and ringing bells for The Salvation Army, but this campaign is new, marking a rare, enterprise-wide effort to benefit a single organization, said Danielle Covelli, Marketing Director for Panera Bread Covelli Enterprises in South Carolina and Georgia, and the youngest of the family’s third generation of leaders.
“I’m so happy that we could get all of our markets on board with raising funds this year, because it’s not typical for us to all raise funds for the same organization (at the same time),” Danielle said of the Panera markets that are spread across eight states and two Salvation Army territories. “We’re really excited about it.”
“Two hundred and twenty of the company’s nearly 300 Panera cafes will raise the funds by either displaying red kettles or rounding up the orders of customers who agree to it, which is not a hard sell in this case,” said Albert Covelli, Owner/Operator an Danielle’s brother.
“With the customer, when you say ‘would you like to round up for The Salvation Army’ that’s one of those names that they don’t even ask questions, they just say ‘absolutely,’” he said. “Nine out of 10 people.”
“We’re very excited to make a difference (for The Salvation Army) this month,” said Albert, who is named after his grandfather, the company’s founder who passed in 2014.
This generation of rising Covelli leaders, which includes Albert and Danielle’s sister, Candace, spent time ringing bells in Columbus and in their small hometown of Warren, Ohio, alongside their father Sam, the company’s CEO who worked with his father back when the company franchised McDonald’s restaurants. The company has since transitioned to franchising Panera cafes, Dairy Queens and O’Charley’s restaurants.
For this fundraising effort, red kettles will be displayed at seven of the company’s Dairy Queens and five of its O’Charley’s restaurants.
Bell ringing, they say, is a family tradition rich with memorable moments and sometimes bone-chilling circumstances.
“I joke, usually it’s the coldest day of the year when we do it,” said Albert. “We love it.”
“It’s funny, customers will come out and bring us food and coffee - they don’t know we own the restaurant right behind them,” he said. “They don’t know you from Adam, they just know you’re with The Salvation Army and you’re trying to make a difference in the community.”
Seeing the generosity those bells - and possibly the cold temperatures - spark in people, plus hearing some of their stories that they are inspired to share at the kettles, makes the experience an annual treat, Albert said.
“You hear those stories that kind of give you goose bumps and almost bring you to tears,” he said. “When you hear those stories and see real-life people being affected every day, it reminds you of your ‘why’ again, and it always gets you rejuvenated and energized for the cause.”
Danielle agrees, recalling a year she rang bells as a teenager with her father.
“Even though it was probably zero degrees when I did it, it was worth it,” she said. “At the end of the day it was totally worth it and very rewarding.”
It all goes back to the family’s foundational beliefs, much like the tenets of The Salvation Army.
“My family, we’re Christian, and we believe in servant leadership and serving others,” Albert said. “My grandpa at McDonald’s and my dad at McDonald’s, always preached charity and community involvement.
“We got to see that firsthand as a great example, so we were blessed to have our family lead us in that direction as young people.”
The family plans to pass that down to the next generation, including Albert’s 14-month-old son Theo, but Covelli Enterprises employees also reap the benefits of this belief system.
“Our goal is to have our employees engage in charity work,” at a minimum every quarter, but ideally every month or two, Albert said.
The employees not only appreciate working for a company that encourages that, but also more fully buy into charitable drives like this one for The Salvation Army, he said.
As part of its well-considered strategy, Panera café employees are also doing volunteer events related to the fundraising for The Salvation Army, Danielle explained.
“What’s so special (about this campaign) is that we’re all doing this for the same cause,” Danielle said. “It builds camaraderie, and we’re all doing these volunteer events in conjunction with raising the funds, which is super important for our employees to see.
“Employees are asking customers if they want to round up their order total every day for The Salvation Army, so we think it’s important that they see what the funds are going back to, whether it’s working at a soup kitchen for the day or helping to sort toys for the Angel Tree program,” Danielle said.
Philanthropy is so key to the company that the majority of its marketing work involves cause marketing, “whether it be getting involved in community events, planning and executing campaigns, volunteering with staff, etc.,” Danielle said.
The company also regularly donates at the end of the day its unsold bread and baked goods to local organizations that serve those in need in its communities. In addition to local marketing efforts, the company holds annual campaigns for all of its markets, including the Pieces of Hope for Autism Cookie Campaign in April, the Pink Ribbon Bagel Campaign in October, and a Veterans Day Campaign in November. 2018 resulted in more than $30 million in food and monetary donations given back to the communities in which Covelli owns its franchises.
Strengthening the communities in which they operate is not only the right thing to do, but also is very much a two-way street, according to Albert.
“We know when our community is strong, our business is strong - if the community is weak our business will be weak, as well,” Albert said. “So we like to come together as a team, as a partnership, and do life with the community.”