I received this letter in response to my letter to the Whataburger Cooperation regarding their donation to our Relay for Life Event in the Ingledie/Aransas Pass area. Whataburger has a store in each of those towns.
–Lisa
May 5, 2008
Lisa Klemm
Relay for Life Team Captain
307 San Rafael
Portland, TX 78374
Dear Lisa,
Thank you for reaching out to Whataburger to help support the recent Relay for Life events benefiting the American Cancer Society. We received your inquiry to reconsider our donation for the Aransas Pass –Ingleside efforts.
Your initial request was received through our website and I determined that I wanted to provide some type of assistance. At the time, my quarterly sponsorship budget was mostly allocated so I contacted you about a % of sales fundraiser night. We already had a fundraiser evening planned for the Portland Relay for Life on April 22nd, so I spoke with our Area Manager and we agreed to extend the same opportunity to you at both the Ingleside and Aransas Pass locations.
The goal of the fundraiser night is to create awareness for the cause and attract customers to our restaurants in order to generate sales and provide a donation to your organization. Per your request, I made contact with Sue Cave and Sara Yardley to coordinate the event. We produced flyers to help increase awareness of the event as well as an email version that could be sent out by your supporters. We also provided door prizes and the chance to win “Whataburger for a Year” through a register to win contest.
Here is a total for each of the fundraiser locations that evening:
- Aransas Pass, TX $121.82
- Ingleside, TX $100.76
- Portland, TX $178.72
I was at our Portland location most of the evening and they collected $95.00 in the sale of luminaries in addition to signing up participants.
The previous week, we held a fundraiser night in Victoria, TX and we donated a total of $486.89 from four restaurants.
We understand the donation from the fundraiser may not have been what you expected, but I wanted to let you know of some other ways that Whataburger supports the American Cancer Society in the Coastal Bend and surrounding areas:
- Cattle Barons Sponsorship- We have contributed $75,000 to the American Cancer Society over the last five (5) years in support of Cattle Baron’s and two (2) annual Lil’ Wrangler events to provide Christmas and Easter parties for 150 children and their families who are affected by cancer.
- First Friday- Since 2006, we have donated and raised $3,350 for First Friday in support of awareness and research for breast cancer. This internal fundraiser was started and supported by Whataburger employees at our Corporate Office.
- Relay for Life- Through our partnership with the Corpus Christi Hooks baseball team, Whataburger Field has hosted the downtown Relay for Life for at least the last two (2) years. One of the reasons Whataburger decided to support this facility was because of its ability to provide a venue for community events such as this one.
This does not include support in our other markets which is comprised of over 700 restaurants in 10 states. Whataburger is proud to give back to the communities we serve and we are actively involved with many organizations. We recognize and appreciate your efforts toward the success of your event and we are happy to have played a role in helping you achieve your goal.
A check in the amount of $222.58 will be mailed to the American Cancer Society to benefit the Aransas Pass – Ingleside Relay for Life. Hopefully this information provides a better understanding of our commitment to supporting the American Cancer Society.
Respectfully,
Danell Spelhaug
361/688-1342
Zone Marketing Coordinator
Whataburger Restaurants, LP
