Restaurant Neighbor Award 2008 Finalist
North Carolina

Dugan's Pub
Pinehurst, NC

Cornerstone Humanitarian Nominee: Alan Riley

Thanks to the leadership and inspiration of pub owner Alan Riley, 430 children in Moore County go home with a nutritious snacks and beverages every weekend. The BackPack Pals program, supported in part by Dugan’s Pub, is a coordinated effort among food vendors, volunteers and 18 area schools. Riley used his foodservice contacts to introduce the program coordinators to foodservice distributors, including SYSCO and U.S. Foodservice, to secure food for the project at a lower cost. To raise donations, Riley created “dress down” Friday for its staff and asks employees for a $5 donation to be able to wear their choice of shirt to work. Ten dollars allows them to wear whatever pants and shirts they’d like. The restaurant also hosted a karaoke contest and comedy night with all proceeds going to BackPack Pals. To date, Dugan’s has donated more than $6,000 to BackPack Pals, and helped provide more than 28,000 pounds of food to enable BackPack Pals to offer its first summer program.

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