Wherever Red Robin operates a restaurant, we want to be a good neighbor and make a difference in the community. We believe we can do this not only by establishing a comfortable and fun place for our Guests to meet, eat and have a memorable experience, but also by giving back to the communities where we do business.
Here are some of the ways Red Robin works to support our neighborhoods:
The Red Robin Foundation
Our Red Robin Team Members live and work in the communities where our restaurants are located, and their success and well-being are important to us. So when one of our Team Members experiences an unexpected hardship, such as a catastrophic event or financial emergency, the Red Robin Foundation is there to help through its Giving Fund. Established in 2002 and financed through generous donations by Red Robin Team Members and franchisees, the Giving Fund has already provided more than half a million dollars in emergency assistance to over 4,000 Red Robin Team Members. In addition to emergency aid, the Foundation has awarded more than $300,000 in scholarship grants during 2009 alone to assist Team Members who wish to further their education.
For more information on the Red Robin Foundation, including how to make a donation, click here.
U-ACT Program
Our U-ACT Program is designed to share with those outside Red Robin our “Unbridled” culture of kindness and service “above-and-beyond." U-ACT, which stands for Unbridled Acts or random acts of kindness, is Red Robin’s national character-building initiative specifically designed for middle and junior high schools. The program challenges students to be kind to each other through in-school programs and volunteer activities that create caring communities. Participating schools are eligible for grant awards ranging from $1,200 to $15,000. Through our U-ACT Program, Red Robin inspires kids to celebrate the power of kindness, ultimately helping to eliminate negative, bullying behavior among young people and establishing lasting positive and productive social behaviors that impact kids at school, at home and in the community at large. Since we launched the U-ACT Program in 2005, more than 200 schools have participated by developing programs to promote kindness and volunteerism, and Red Robin has awarded nearly $160,000 in grants to 30 schools in the U.S. that have received Red Robin’s U-ACT Champion Awards of Excellence or U-ACT Merit Awards.
To learn more about our U-ACT Program and how your school can participate, click here.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children®
Through our continued support of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Red Robin promotes programs designed to keep kids in our communities safer. During the grand opening week of every new company-owned Red Robin restaurant, a portion of the proceeds from each gourmet burger sold is donated to NCMEC. In addition, our annual Kids’ Cook-Off invites kids to submit their own gourmet burger creation to Red Robin. The program helps us generate additional financial support for NCMEC through the donation of a portion of the sales from every grand prize-winning gourmet burger sold in participating Red Robin restaurants. Also, each year Red Robin compiles the top kid-created gourmet burger recipes from the thousands of burger recipes we receive from kids around the country to create the Red Robin Kids’ Cook-Off Cookbook. The cookbook is made available on www.redrobin.com for download free of charge. Finally, the Red Robin Child ID Kit Program provides free child ID kits to parents while helping to raise funds for NCMEC through kids’ meal sales. As a result of our efforts to raise awareness and support for NCMEC, Red Robin has to date generated nearly $310,000 in contributions to the organization’s programs to promote child safety and help in the recovery of missing children.
Red Robin Kids’ Cook-Off Grand Prize Winners
Special Olympics
Red Robin is a proud sponsor of Special Olympics. Since 2005, Red Robin has expanded our support for Special Olympics from one state to 35 U.S. states in 2010. Through in-restaurant Tip-A-Cop fundraisers, where members of the local law enforcement community volunteer to serve our Guests, we’ve raised more than $1.5 million from tips and other contributions to support Special Olympics programs.
Red Robin Brightens the Holidays for Denver Kids
Team Members at Red Robin’s Home Office in Denver pitched in to deliver holiday cheer to nearly 60 Denver-area families through its annual holiday drive to support Denver Kids, Inc. – a non-profit organization that helps at-risk students in Denver’s inner city. This was the 12th consecutive year that Red Robin’s Home Office team has “adopted” local families in need of assistance and provided holiday gifts for family members, as well as gift cards from local grocery retailers. To date, Red Robin’s support for Denver Kids has brightened the holiday season for more than 500 families, representing more than 2,500 people.
