White Castle Thanks Vaccinated Team Members with $100,000 Giveaway

Team members submitting proof of at least one vaccine are automatically entered for a chance to win one of 200 cash prizes, valued at $500 each

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White Castle

Sep 08, 2021, 05:00 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- White Castle, the iconic fast-food hamburger chain and consumer-packaged goods company, has been an ardent supporter of essential workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, giving free meals to healthcare workers, making food deliveries to grocery and food retail workers, and offering discounts to school employees. Today, the family-owned business announces a month-long program to thank its own team members who opt for the vaccine: $100,000 in cash prizes.

White Castle's new Vax-A-Thousands program will give $500 prizes to 200 employees who can show proof of vaccination.

The giveaway, internally referred to as VAX-a-Thousands, invites any of White Castle's 10,000 team members to submit proof of at least one COVID-19 vaccine to be automatically entered to win $500, one of 200 such cash payments being awarded during the month of September.

"We are encouraged by our team's immediate response to the available vaccines this year," said Jamie Richardson, a vice president at White Castle. "Our VAX-a-Thousands giveaway is a meaningful way to thank our essential team members and inspire others to get vaccinated."

The $100,000 prize total is a nod to the Slider pioneer's 100^th birthday being celebrated throughout 2021. For four weeks starting the week of Sept. 6, White Castle will randomly select 50 winners each week among those eligible to receive $500. Team members in more senior positions will be excluded from eligibility to focus the benefit primarily on front-line workers.

"The safety of our team members, their families and the communities we serve has been a top priority since we started satisfying cravings in 1921," Richardson said. "Today more than ever as we power through the pandemic, we want to be here in ways that matter for our team members."

The team member giveaway is the latest in a series of campaigns from White Castle to support people during the pandemic. This past April, customers who showed proof of a vaccine were given their choice of free desserts-on-a-stick. In spring 2020, White Castle gave away $1 million worth of free combo meals to EMTs, paramedics, nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals who were risking their own health and safety to ensure the safety of their communities. Throughout the summer of 2020, White Castle delivered more than 15,000 free Sliders to hospital, grocery store and retail food workers. They also provided a 20% discount to grocery store and retail food workers, first responders, healthcare workers and to all school employees.

About White Castle^®

White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, has been making hot and tasty Sliders as a family-owned business for 100 years. Based in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle started serving The Original Slider^® in 1921. Today, White Castle owns and operates more than 350 restaurants dedicated to satisfying customers' cravings morning, noon and night. Through its retail division, which launched in 1987, White Castle also offers its famous fare in freezer aisles of grocery, convenience and club stores nationwide. The Original Slider, named in 2014 as Time magazine's "Most Influential Burger of All Time," is served alongside a menu of creatively crafted Sliders and other mouthwatering food options, including White Castle's Impossible^™ Slider, named by Thrillist in 2019 as the "Best Plant-Based Fast Food Burger." White Castle's commitment to maintaining the highest quality products extends to the company owning and operating its own meat processing plants, bakeries and frozen-food processing plants. In 2021, 100 years after the first Slider was sold, Fast Company named the fast-food pioneer one of the "10 Most Innovative Dining Companies." White Castle is known for the legendary loyalty of its team members, more than 1 in 4 of whom have worked for White Castle for at least 10 years, and also for its faithful fans ("Cravers"), many of whom compete each year for entry into the Cravers Hall of Fame. The official White Castle app, available at iTunes App Store or Google Play, makes it easy for Cravers to access sweet deals and place pickup orders at any time. They can also have their orders delivered using one of White Castle's delivery partners. For more information on White Castle, visit whitecastle.com.

SOURCE White Castle