At Bojangles, we pride ourselves on our commitment to giving back – whether that’s through our recently-launched Bojangles Foundation Fund, our frequent giveaways and donations or aligning ourselves with charitable organizations that fit into the pillars of our corporate social responsibility plan.
One of those pillars is military appreciation, so we were thrilled when PepsiCo’s Rolling Remembrance announced it would be stopping by Bo on its 2023 relay!
Launched in 2015, PepsiCo’s Rolling Remembrance is a 14,000 mile-relay of an American flag from Seattle to New York to raise awareness and encourage donations for the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, a nonprofit that provides educational counseling and college scholarships to military children who have lost a parent in the line of duty.
On Friday, April 28, the campaign rolled through town and stopped at our Waverly location in Charlotte.
We celebrated the occasion with a red, white and blue tailgate party, including veteran group get-togethers with American Legion chapters, live country music from local favorite Jeremy Davids, and, of course, lots of delicious scratch-made chicken and biscuits.
Attendees gathered to welcome the truck’s arrival, led by an escort from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Once the Rolling Remembrance truck arrived, attendees gathered for a national anthem performance from Bojangles’ own David Currence, a presentation of the colors from Weddington High School’s Marine Corps JROTC and remarks from key spokespeople, including Ken Reynolds, executive director of the Bojangles Foundation Fund, Steve Smith, corporate development officer for the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation and Madison Roussel, marketing assistant and former Children of Fallen Patriots scholarship recipient herself.
"During this Rolling Remembrance journey, we get to see the best of PepsiCo and its partners like Bojangles as each site displays pride in our country, our veterans and first responders and most of all, our fallen heroes,” Smith, a veteran himself, noted.
Scholarship recipient Madison Roussel shared the story of her father, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Kenneth Roussel, and how the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation enabled her to achieve her goal of a college education. Upon graduating from the University of Kentucky, Roussel joined the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation as a Scholarship Administrator and later as a Marketing Assistant to help make college education possible for military children across the nation.
The participating Bojangles store donated a portion of sales from that day to the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, and the Bojangles Foundation matched the donation dollar for dollar.
We can’t wait to see the impact that the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation has for generations to come!