CHL Mississippi RiverKings

Assists for Autism Gets Boost from Papa John's Contest

Published on June 11, 2010 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


HERNANDO, MS --- While Mississippi RiverKings hockey isn't making any assists on the ice until October, its Assists for Autism program is going strong, thanks to members of the community hard at work advocating for children - and eating pizza.

Papa John's Pizza of Hernando has teamed up with local builder and autism advocate Wayne Bartley, who also serves as one of the board members of the Assists for Autism endowed fund at the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, to create "Justin's Perfect Puzzle Pizza" as an entry in the Papa John's National Specialty Pizza Challenge hosted on www.facebook.com/papajohns.

The winners of the contest will receive free pizza for life, plus a percentage of the pizza sales. Bartley and Papa John's Pizza co-owners Michael Hensley and Brant Barnes have promised that if "Justin's Perfect Puzzle Pizza" wins, the money will be split between a national autism research foundation and Assists for Autism, which helps support the 300-plus families in DeSoto County who have children within the autism spectrum.

"My business partner's son has autism, and Wayne's son has autism," said Hensley. "We believe you need to give back to the community you're in. My partner, Brant Barnes, was really excited about this. He said, 'Let's do this. Let's raise some money. Let's get some awareness about this.' I'm new to autism, but I want to jump in and do my part, and we feel like this contest will help others learn about it."

Papa John's Hernando will host a "Celebration Party" with moonbounces and other activities for children the evening of June 21st from 5-8 p.m. at the Hernando store, located at 2485 Mt. Pleasant Road (662-429-5252) at Commerce Street, where patrons can buy "Justin's Perfect Puzzle Pizza." Ten dollars from the sale of each "Justin's Perfect Puzzle Pizza" will be donated to the Assists for Autism program.

"Even if we don't win the national contest, at least we can raise some money and awareness at the local level," Hensley said. "One in 91 kids now have autism. More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined, yet autism receives less than 5 percent of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases."

On June 14th, a handful of pizzas will be chosen as semifinalists based on the pizza's name, story behind the making, taste tests and popular vote. The company will produce these pizzas for a limited time, then choose a winner based on the pizza with the most sales nationally.

"Justin's Perfect Puzzle Pizza" includes Justin's favorite ingredients: grilled chicken, Italian sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella and 3-cheese blend topped with smoked bacon, cooked to perfection and then finished off with a sprinkling of Papa John's Special Seasoning. The "Puzzle" part of the name was chosen because of the national usage of jigsaw puzzle pieces in the autism awareness logo.

The men made a home video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNbjHvvNsUo) taped in the Hernando store and edited by Hensley. Eight days after being posted to YouTube and the Papa John's national facebook fan page, "Justin's Perfect Puzzle Pizza" jumped to the number one most "liked" spot in the national contest and has remained there. Should the voting continue at the rate it has, the pizza will finish the contest as the nations' most "liked" pizza by a landslide.

"It was amazing - the community rallied behind us and made it happen," Hensley said. "Whether we win the contest or not, we want to finish what we started - educating folks, celebrating what the community has done, and making some money for Assists for Autism."

"I want to give folks the opportunity to taste the pizza the way we made it in the video," Hensley said. "Then when we're wrapping it up, we can tally the sales and write a check right there. It will be a lot of fun and we can do a lot of good with it."

The RiverKings "Assists for Autism" initiative is an assists-for-charity fundraiser that allows fans and patrons to donate an amount of their choosing per assist made by the team or to make a one-time donation to a field-of-interest fund by the same name at the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi. The fund supports children and their families in the DeSoto County area who are dealing with autism.

For more information on the Celebration Party at the store on June 21, call 662-429-5252. To stay up to date on the contest and this event, get news updates via the local "Papa John's Pizza Hernando" facebook page. For more information on Assists for Autism, call the Community Foundation at 662.449.5002. For more information on the RiverKings, call 662.342.1755.

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Central Hockey League Stories from June 11, 2010


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