Restaurant Neighbor Award 2008 Finalist
Georgia

AppleGrove Restaurants, DBA Applebee's Neighborgood Grill & Bar
Atlanta, GA

In lieu of its annual leadership conference in 2007, AppleGrove Restaurants — which franchises 105 Applebee’s in eight states — decided to take the time and money it would typically invest in the conference and put it to use in the community instead. It deemed schools the most natural fit for the Applebee’s brand, so the Hands On in the Neighborhood initiative was born. All 100 general managers and more than 100 support personnel and vendor partners participated in one of three projects, held in schools in Portland, Ore., Denver, and Savannah, Ga. The three-day projects included work to refurbish playgrounds, landscape garden areas, paint basketball courts, deliver gift baskets to classrooms, host ice cream parties for special school events and more. AppleGrove and its employees contributed more than $100,000 in labor and materials to improve the schools, with 1,750 students benefiting from the program.

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