Which Wich® Superior Sandwiches Launches 11th Annual Flag Your Bag Campaign to Support and Honor Active Military
The Sandwich Chain Plans to Donate 30,000 Personalized Goodie Bags of Non-Perishables To Troops This Year.
DALLAS, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As Memorial Day approaches, Which Wich Superior Sandwiches is gearing up for its 11th annual Flag Your Bag campaign. The award-winning fast casual sandwich concept will encourage customers to hand-decorate goodie bags to express their personal appreciation and support for active U.S. Military service members.
Between Monday, May 27 and Thursday, July 4, 2019, Which Wich guests will use red and blue Sharpies to write heartfelt messages on the brand's signature brown bags before hanging them on their local restaurant's Community Wall. Which Wich will then fill the personalized bags with nonperishable goods before distributing them to active U.S. servicemembers.
"Flag Your Bag has been an important part of the Which Wich vibe for more than a decade and we look forward to this opportunity each year to express our gratitude to the women and men serving our country," said Jeff Sinelli, founder and CEO of Which Wich. "A small gesture of thanks goes a long way with those serving and we encourage all our Which Wich fans to help us out in brightening their day and make sure they understand how much their service means."
Over the last 10 years of the Flag Your Bag campaign, Which Wich has collected more than 100,000 bags covered in heartwarming art, messages of support and notes of encouragement from all around the country to distribute all across the world. This year, the brand aims to collect at least 30,000 more bags.
"When I was stationed abroad and received letters from people—an elementary school student cheering me on, a mother who lost her son in combat thanking me for my service—words can't really express what that meant to me," said David Thompson, Director of Construction at Which Wich and a former U.S. Marine. Thompson played a vital role in the liberation of Kuwait during the Gulf War and was stationed all over the globe. Thompson says he would sometimes wonder if people back home were thinking about him.
"During active duty, you can sometimes feel quite isolated from the U.S., going weeks without getting any mail at all. A personalized care package can change your entire day, week, month or honestly, even year," said Thompson. "It's so reassuring to feel that support and encouragement from people back home, even if you have never met them. And getting your hands on a few goodies that you really miss having access to while overseas doesn't hurt, either."
The U.S. Department of Defense is the largest employer in the world, with more than 1.3 million active duty servicemembers, 744,000 civilian personnel and 799,000 in the National Guard and Reserve forces. Which Wich franchisees all over the U.S. support the Flag Your Bag campaign, with individual locations contributing as many as 2,000 bags to local military bases.
Which Wich enthusiastically supports members of the U.S. military through the International Franchise Association's VetFran initiative, offering all honorably discharged veterans eligibility to receive $10,000 off their initial franchise fee and helping them get one step closer toward opening their first Which Wich restaurant. Veterans' skill sets are uniquely aligned with franchise ownership, with veterans currently operating Which Wich locations in Louisiana, Indiana and Texas.
"I've seen veterans frame the original decorated bags they received through the campaign, hanging them in their homes to preserve the memory of how supported they felt when they got them," said Thompson. "Like a simple handshake or a thank you, a goodie bag may seem like a small gesture, but it means the world to servicemembers. I'm truly honored to be a part of the Flag Your Bag campaign and reaching a helping hand out to our troops."
ABOUT WHICH WICH
Which Wich® Superior Sandwiches was founded in Dallas in late 2003 by restaurant entrepreneur, Jeff Sinelli. The national sandwich franchise chain is best known for its customizable sandwiches, creative ordering system, and personalized sandwich bag. In 2019, Entrepreneur Magazine named Which Wich one of its Fastest Growing Franchises and in 2018, Which Wich was ranked as the #9 sandwich brand on the magazine's Top 200 Food and Restaurant Franchises. In 2017, Which Wich ranked as #9 on Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers and Shakers and landed at #20 on the Franchise Times Fast & Serious list. In 2016, Restaurant Business named Which Wich the first winner of its Future 50 Pacesetter award. Which Wich is the recipient of a Nation's Restaurant News MenuMasters "Healthful Innovations" award and has been named by Forbes as one of their "30 Best Franchises To Buy." Which Wich currently has 500 locations open or in development in 40 states and 12 countries. For more information, visit http://www.whichwich.com.
SOURCE Which Wich
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