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Round It Up AmericaŽ (RUIA), the
non-profit organization that invites restaurant guests to
'round up' their checks to the nearest dollar and donate the
remaining change to local organizations, has named Michelle
McCarthy as chief operating officer and Maureen Trippe as
its senior vice president of development.
Ms. McCarthy comes to RUIA from the American
Red Cross, Los Angeles Region, where she held the same
position. With an extensive non-profit background,
Ms. McCarthy has been responsible for various aspects of corporate
management, strategic planning, finance, information
technology, human resources, legal affairs and risk
management.
Maureen Trippe is a seasoned hospitality
professional with more than 30 years experience in national
account sales, most recently with Ste. Michelle Wine
Estates. As senior vice president of development, Ms. Trippe
will be developing relationships with potential Mission
Partners to expand the reach of the Round It Up AmericaŽ
program. .
"I
am pleased to welcome both Michelle McCarthy and Maureen
Trippe to the Round It Up AmericaŽ family," said Harald
Herrmann, co-founder of the
non-profit organization. "Both
will bring a new perspective and dynamic component to RUIA
as we continue to grow and foster relationships with both
our Mission Partners and our selected charities."
Herrmann, president of Yard House
Restaurants, founded Round It Up AmericaŽ with Jennifer
Weerheim, the company's director of branding, after hearing
a news report of depleted shelves at food banks across the
country. Since launching Round It Up AmericaŽ more than four
years ago, the non-profit organization has expanded
nationally forging partnerships with several restaurant
brands known as Mission Partners. Mission Partners include
Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ, Hof's Hut, Cohn Restaurant Group,
The Prado at Balboa Park, 333 Pacific, Cameron Mitchell
Restaurant Group, Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern, and
Keep Rockin. Most recently the 13-unit Lazy Dog Café, Parco
Holdings, LLC, which operate six Hooters eateries, LA-based
Barney's Beanery with five units, Romacorp, with 9 of their
corporate owned Tony Roma's and the Breakers Resort in Palm
Beach, Florida, which has nine restaurant concepts.
The Mission Partners have implemented the
program into their own business model and are inviting their
guests to also 'round up' their checks. The Mission Partners
can allocate 75% of their funds to charities of their
choices, while the remaining 25% benefit the American Red
Cross Natural Disaster Relief Fund and the the Educational
Foundations of the State and National Restaurant
Associations for their ProStart programs.
"It's
so satisfying to know RUIA has grown from having a presence
in a single restaurant to now having a presence in 20 states
and some 150 restaurant locations," added Co-Founder
Jennifer Weerheim. "To date Round It Up AmericaŽ has raised
more than $1.7 million that has directly benefitted more
than 40 charities nationwide. While we're often credited
with the success of RUIA, it's really the thousands of
restaurant guests who are making a difference by simply
rounding up their checks at the end of a meal. This program
would not exist without them or their generosity."
The United States boasts more than
one-million restaurants. If just one-percent or 10,000 of
those restaurants were to raise $25 a day from guests
rounding up their checks it would equal $7.5 million a month
or $90 million a year. The shelves of food banks would be
full, shelters would have the adequate supplies needed, and
less people would go hungry as a result. For every dollar
donated, 93 cents goes directly to the cause with just 7%
allocated for administrative costs.
To learn more about Round It Up AmericaŽ,
visit
www.rounditupamerica.org or follow the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95RFYbqNKrI&feature=youtu.be
to view a video about Round It Up AmericaŽ. |