Hardee's Locations Raise More Than $88,000 for Special Olympics Virginia to Send Athletes to Summer Games

RICHMOND, VA--(Marketwired - Dec 5, 2016) - Customers at Hardee's^® restaurants across Virginia operated by Boddie-Noell Enterprises gave $88,184 to Special Olympics Virginia for athletes to attend the organization's upcoming summer games. The proceeds came from customers who paid $1 for a Star and received a coupon sheet good for Hardee's menu items during the recent five-week campaign.

The Hardee's Star fundraising campaign helps hundreds of Special Olympics athletes participate in the 2017 edition of this annual community event. It's the 36^th year of the fundraising partnership between franchise operator Boddie-Noell and Special Olympics Virginia.

Raising the most in this year's campaign were customers at the Hardee's in Stuart. In second place was the Hardee's at Celebration Station in Virginia Beach. Third in sales was the Hardee's of Gloucester (Hayes). All 176 Hardee's locations in Virginia operated by Boddie-Noell participated in this year's campaign by selling the Stars.

"We're very proud of our Hardee's locations that did their part but especially for our generous customers who support these wonderful athletes by purchasing the Star and receiving the coupons," said Terry Lewis, president of Boddie-Noell's Hardee's Restaurant Operations and a board member of Special Olympics Virginia.

"As a result of this incredible effort, Special Olympics athletes from all over the Commonwealth will attend the Summer Games," said Rick Jeffrey, president of Special Olympics Virginia. "They will also experience all of the respect, inclusion and unity the Games have to offer as well as much-needed access to free healthcare in the areas of dentistry, optometry, audiology and fitness. Boddie-Noell and Hardee's support of Special Olympics Virginia is unmatched!"

Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the largest Hardee's franchise operator in the United States, has now contributed in excess of $1.6 million to the Special Olympics organization over the more than three decades they've partnered together. Boddie-Noell owns and operates all Hardee's franchise restaurants across Virginia.

In addition to the 2016 Fall fundraiser, in 2017 Boddie-Noell will sponsor the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Virginia. The company will again sponsor the Summer Games in mid-June.

The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with and without intellectual disabilities. Participation provides them with continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

To learn more about the Special Olympics Virginia visit www.specialolympicsva.org.

About Boddie-Noell Enterprises
Family owned Boddie-Noell Enterprises (BNE) has been a Hardee's franchise operator continuously for more than 50 years. Today BNE is the largest Hardee's franchisee in the United States with 338 restaurants across four states (Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and South Carolina). The company employs more than 10,000 people and is headquartered in Rocky Mount, N.C. For more information about the company, visit www.bneinc.com.

About Special Olympics
Special Olympics Virginia is an accredited state program of Special Olympics Incorporated. There are about 140,000 people in Virginia with intellectual disabilities and about 8 million without. Our goal is to reach out to every one of them. In the coming years, our strategy places greater emphasis on uniting youth with and without disabilities. We will also create opportunities for families, teachers, businesses, law enforcement, celebrities, dignitaries and others to band together to change attitudes and support our athletes. Our vision is to inspire the First Unified Generation. Engage with us on Twitter @solympicsva; fb.com/specialolympicsvirginia; and youtube.com/specialolympicsva.