STATE COLLEGE — When deciding on a local charity for Jersey Mike’s Subs annual Day of Giving event on March 30, the choice was easy for Matt and Kristie Patterson.
The husband and wife team own the two State College Jersey Mike’s locations, as well as a shop in Lewisburg that opened in January, and were THON dancers as Penn State students. They said they couldn’t think of a better cause than the Four Diamonds Fund, and the three stores raised more than $20,000 to help in the battle against childhood cancer.
“It was a natural fit with our downtown location being so close to Penn State, and the students being so involved with THON and Four Diamonds,” said Kristie Patterson. “Plus, we were THON dancers as students, so we know the cause.”
The Day of Giving was the culmination of the chain’s national Month of Giving campaign, during which each Jersey Mike’s location picked a local charity to promote. Throughout the month at their three area stores, the Pattersons had donation boxes out for customers to give to the Four Diamonds Fund. Then, on the Day of Giving, 100 percent of sales went to the cause.
The downtown store saw extra business due to the event, selling almost 50 percent more sandwiches that day than normally, said Matt Patterson.
“Definitely our busiest Wednesday of the year. I put it on par with a big football Saturday, with all the sales going to the charity.”
According to Matt Perterson, adding to the business were people who were excited to support the cause, including a local lawyer who bought 160 subs from the restaurant and gave them away to people on the streets.
The couple said they are glad to give back to the community and that the Four Diamonds Fund means a lot to them.
“We have two young children aged 2 and 6, and I know that if I was in the position of having to deal with some of the things families of young cancer patients have to deal with, I would want something like Four Diamonds to be there to help me,” said Kristie Patterson. “So, it feels good that we can do this for them.”
Matt Patterson said he remembers being a student in 2001 dancing in THON, the student-run dance marathon set up to raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund, and what an emotional, eye-opening experience it was.
Now, he is glad to be able to continue to give to the cause in a new way that also helps his business grow.
“It’s great,” he said. “We love to help these organizations and we prefer to utilize our product and talents to help these causes and get the word out that way, instead of a traditional marketing campaign.”
This is the fourth year that Jersey Mike’s has had the event in State College.
