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Papa Murphy's Partners With Borders for Children's Literacy this July and August for children 16 and under
Best Pizza Chain in America Promotes Children's Literacy Just In Time for New Harry Potter Release
SEATTLE, Wash., July 2, 2007: Papa Murphy's Seattle franchisees have partnered with Borders bookstores and Entercom Communications Corporation in Seattle to promote children's literacy with the "BOOK Your Summer" reading program. This marks the take ‘n' bake pizza chains' first foray into partnership with Borders. Together, the two will encourage children in the Puget Sound Region to read by offering free pizzas and a chance to win prizes including the highly-anticipated new Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows book or a year of free pizzas from Papa Murphy's.
"I've always believed that readers are leaders," says Jerry McKenna, Entercom Communications Seattle market manager. McKenna. "Entercom Communications strive to support programming and promotions that benefit the community and children's literacy programs are a great way to help in the Puget Sound Region."
All nine Western Washington Borders locations have "BOOK Your Summer" displays and pamphlets including suggested reading lists and entry forms. Once children have completed the reading challenge they will automatically receive a free medium-size one-topping pizza from Papa Murphy's and are entered to win the grand prize of either Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows or a year of free pizza from Papa Murphy's. See participating Seattle Papa Murphy's and Borders locations for rules and regulations.
"We are very excited about this partnership with Borders and the media support from Entercom," said Ralph Etter, a Papa Murphy's franchisee based in Seattle. "With pizza being the most popular food for school-age children and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows one of the most anticipated children's book releases to date, Papa Murphy's saw this as a real chance to make a difference for thousands of children."
Don Shaw, district marketing manager from Borders says, "A successful partnership is built upon the sharing of core values by all participants, which makes Borders especially proud and excited to be partnering with Entercom Broadcasting and Papa Murphy's. This is a wonderful program that will outreach to our Puget Sound communities to promote summer reading and literacy for children and the opportunity for them to discover the magic of books."
About Papa Murphy's
Papa Murphy's is the sixth-largest pizza chain in the country and the pioneer of the take ‘n' bake pizza concept. Papa Murphy's operates nearly 1,000 locations in 29 states and Canada. The Vancouver, Wash.-based company offers custom-made pizzas featuring high-quality fresh toppings generously layered on pizza dough that is made fresh each morning in each store. Papa Murphy's pizzas are baked at home in customers' ovens for a piping hot, delicious meal whenever they want it. In addition to handmade pizzas, the company offers a growing menu of take ‘n' bake items, including Cheesy Bread, Cinnamon Wheels, chocolate chip cookie dough and freshly-made salads. Papa Murphy's has been voted "Best Pizza Chain in America" for four consecutive years by consumers nationwide in the Restaurants and Institutions "Consumers' Choice in Chains" survey and was recently named Pizza Today's "2006 Chain of the Year." For more information, visit www.papamurphys.com.
About Borders, Inc.
Borders is a subsidiary of Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) a $4.1billion retailer of books, music, movies and stationery items that trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BGP. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Borders Group, through its subsidiaries, operates more than 1,200 Borders and Waldenbooks stores and employs more than 32,000 people worldwide. More information on the company is available at www.bordersgroupinc.com.
