CLEVELAND, Ohio, May 31, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Covelli Enterprises, the Ohio-based largest franchisee of Panera Bread, is proud to announce a newly-formed partnership with the LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF) that will begin in June. The partnership will raise funds for the LJFF I PROMISE School opening this fall.
The partnership will encompass a month-long promotion through which Panera will match dollar for dollar any donation made at any one of its nearly 50 bakery-cafés in the Cleveland, Akron, and Canton areas. The LJFF will appear on the Community Breadbox donation collection canisters at each of these locations during the month of June as part of the Covelli Cares community support program.
The funds will support the LJFF’s I PROMISE School designed in partnership with Akron Public Schools (APS) for at-risk public school students in Akron. The school will expand on the work of the LJFF’s I PROMISE program, which targets students in need and provides them with resources including mentoring, hands-on experiences and after-school help. The school plans to take APS’s rigorous curriculum and infuse it with a STEM, hands-on, problem-based learning focus along with LJFF’s ’We Are Family’ philosophy to educate the whole child and provide complete wraparound supports for its students and their families.
“We are a Northeast Ohio company, so it means the world to us to do what we can do make a difference for our communities right here at home,” said Sam Covelli, Owner/Operator of Covelli Enterprises. “We are incredibly proud to be able to support the work of the LeBron James Family Foundation, and we can’t wait to see the I PROMISE School come to fruition for the kids who need it most. In Northeast Ohio, we take care of each other. LeBron gets that, and so do we. We Are Family.”
“LeBron knows it takes a complete community effort to create the real, generational change he envisions with the I PROMISE School, so it means everything to our Foundation to have the support of incredible partners like Panera Bread,” said Michele Campbell, executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation. “We believe this groundbreaking school will be life-changing for families in Akron, and our work would not be possible without this critical support from the Northeast Ohio community. We are extremely grateful for Panera’s willingness to open its arms and its local locations for the benefit of LeBron’s kids in Akron.”
The I Promise School will open fall of 2018 starting with third and fourth grade classes and adding first and second grades the following year. By 2022, the school will be complete with first through eighth grades.
About Covelli Enterprises
Covelli Enterprises operates more than 300 Panera Bread bakery-cafés in eight states. Headquartered in Warren, Ohio, Covelli Enterprises is the single largest franchisee of Panera Bread, LLC. In 2017, Covelli Enterprises donated more than $32 million to hunger relief agencies and non-profit organizations through Covelli Cares. www.covelli.com
About Covelli Cares
Covelli Cares is Covelli Enterprises' promise to strengthen and improve lives in the communities it serves through community donations, corporate giving, fundraising promotions, partnerships with local non-profit organizations, and local volunteer activities. 100% of all donations to Covelli Cares will benefit non-profit partners in the communities Covelli Enterprises serves.
About LeBron James Family Foundation
Recognizing the life-changing importance of education, The LeBron James Family Foundation invests its time, resources and attention in the kids of James’ hometown in Akron, Ohio. Through its I PROMISE program, the foundation serves more than 1,300 Akron-area students by providing them with the programs, support and mentors they need for success in school and beyond. In 2015, James partnered with The University of Akron to guarantee four-year college scholarships to all eligible students who graduate from high school and complete the criteria in the classroom and in the community. In 2018, all of the Foundation’s interventions and research-based incentives – along with its “We Are Family” philosophy – will be implemented into a brand new Akron Public School, the I PROMISE School, dedicated to giving Akron’s most challenged students and their families the resources and wraparound supports needed on the path to a better future.