LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Starting today, Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) is helping you give the gift of free pizza to the nurse spending nights caring for others, to your best friend whose couch you sleep on too often, or even to the coworker who let you borrow that stapler for the third time.

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Papa John’s is giving back by helping people #passthepizza to those who have done good this year—those who care, those who are passionate, and those who make an impact, big or small—by sending them a totally free, delicious pizza.

12 Days of Better

The #passthepizza effort will kick off with the “12 Days of Better” in partnership with The Salvation Army. Papa John’s team members will deliver hundreds of pizzas to 12 Salvation Army locations nationwide over the holidays providing a free pizza dinner for those in need. Follow @SalvationArmyUS and Salvation Army for more information.

“When someone is in need, few things uplift their spirit like a hot meal. It’s great to partner with Papa John’s to provide that uplifting for so many people who are working so hard and just need a little encouragement, and to know someone cares,” said Lt. Col. Ron Busroe, National Community Relations and Development Secretary.

How to #passthepizza

During the holiday season, anyone can request Papa John’s #passthepizza to deserving friends, families, coworkers, communities or favorite charities. Anyone can tag a person or organization they are thankful for with #passthepizza, say why that person or organization deserves free pizza, and @PapaJohns will surprise them with a digital code for a free one-topping pizza on Twitter. Papa John’s will #passthepizza to up to 50,000 unsung community heroes.

“Too often people who impact our daily lives in small but significant ways go unrecognized,” said Brandon Rhoten, Global CMO of Papa John’s. “Whether it’s the charity down the street instituting change 365 days a year, or that guy who always shows up for your intramural soccer team, we wanted to pay-it-forward this holiday season and encourage others to do the same through what we make best: pizza.”

About Papa John’s

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third-largest pizza delivery company. For 16 of the past 18 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need without discrimination for more than 135 years in the U.S. More than 25 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a range of social services: food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless, and opportunities for underprivileged children. For every dollar donated to The Salvation Army, 82 cents are used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. The Salvation Army tracks the level of need across the country with the Human Needs Index (HumanNeedsIndex.org). For more information, go to SalvationArmyUSA.org or follow on Twitter @SalvationArmyUS.

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