CEO: John Miller
Headquarters: Spartanburg, South Carolina
Website: www.dennys.com

Scholarships for Multicultural Students

Denny’s is always looking for ways to serve its local communities more than just food. In a commitment to fighting childhood hunger, its Hungry For Education program awards scholarships to multicultural students for their creative and unique ideas on how Denny’s can impact childhood hunger.

Hungry For Education’s reach into local communities extends across the brand’s key designated marketing areas within the United States. More than 8,000 students have submitted applications and $700,000 in scholarships has been awarded to more than 175 students.

As part of Denny’s corporate social responsibility strategy, CEO John Miller, wanted to pursue childhood hunger as an avenue to reach multicultural communities. Denny’s launched Hungry For Education based on market research and psychographic insights determining education was an important pillar of multicultural communities.

To effectively administer the program and extend its reach into multicultural communities, Denny’s partnered with leading, minority non-profit advocacy organizations such as the Magic Johnson Foundation, U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute, U.S. Pan-Asian American Chamber of Commerce and the Tom Joyner Foundation.

As a means of extending the program’s reach and influence, Denny’s developed a commercial that highlighted the company’s partnership with the Tom Joyner Foundation and showcased one scholarship winner’s “vision for ending childhood hunger”. The commercial was broadcast on several networks during primetime, including the NAACP Image Awards on TV One, the BET Networks and Denny’s Community Impact Awards on Centric and BET’s 106 & Park, reaching almost 5 million viewers.