OUR ST ALBERT STORE TURNS ONE!

supporting Stop Abuse in Families

May 5, 2018

We have a lot of respect for the work that SAIF does.

Abuse in families is much more common than most of us want to believe. I recently had a very emotional discussion with a customer & friend of ours that is currently going through some very challenging things, in her own home. And without going into much detail, I had a lot of respect for this woman before I knew of these struggles. And now, if it’s possible I admire her even more. She’s using SAIF to heal, to learn and to one day help others who are in a similar situation.

Around Christmas time a local teacher reached out to me about a mother and two boys from her school going through domestic abuse. They were putting on a fundraiser with silent auction items to get her some help. I reached out to our community and was so grateful for our customers and fellow small businesses for stepping up with donations. That fundraiser that this wonderful teacher organized raised enough money to get mom and the boys to a safe place.

Emotional and physical abuse knows no age, demographic, gender or race – it happens behind closed doors, in the places that one should feel the safest. It rips apart families. And it needs to stop and it needs to be talked about. SAIF has been in operation since 1989, providing counselling, violence prevention and education programs. It’s an organization that is unfortunately SO needed in our community. And if we’re able to help a little bit by making some pizzas, we’re all for that.

We celebrated our first birthday in St Albert on May 5 with Buy One, Get One Free Pizzas with $1 from each pizza we made is going directly to the programs at Stop Abuse in Families. Programs that might be helping your friends, your classmates, your neighbour or your customers. We made 489 pizzas and collected $180 of donations for our friends at SAIF . We dropped off a cheque for $700 that will go to their programs to help families going through domestic abuse. As always, we are so proud that we can make even a little difference in someone’s life, who needs it, with our LOVEPIZZA Gives initiatives.

OUR SECOND BIRTHDAY

supporting The Bissell Centre

January 28 2018

We have always said that our restaurants are our other babies. They need love, nurturing, guidance, time. They are a pain in the ass sometimes, but generally we love them unconditionally. Running a restaurant is tough -mentally, physically, emotionally – all that stuff. But it’s the best kind of “tough.” This business has been a valuable classroom over the last two years – problem solving, relationships, growth, patience, challenges and a whole lot of love. On January 28th 2018 we hosted another wild BOGO birthday in our downtown shop. Mr LOVEPIZZA is quite possibly the most calculated planner that I know - the day went off without a hitch because of that man's attention to detail, work ethic and planning. He was behind the scenes for the entire day (week actually) making sure our team had everything they needed to make 808 pizzas, for you. 808 in one day!

Our team runs like a well oiled sports car. A fast one. I was standing rolling dough all day (literally) listening to their interactions with our customers and I'm constantly so impressed by them. The dough station is my happy place, I can hear and see everything that is going on but still be tucked away. I get to know our team there, chat with customers and just be at the heart of our business. I joked with a few people that I get more excited for LOVEPIZZA's birthday, than my own. And that is 100% true. It was an amazing day. Thank you to all of you who came out. It was cold, you were resourceful. The lineup filled the lobby AND the bathroom hallway. You opened your hearts and wallets to our #lovepizzagives charity of choice, the @bissellcentre and donated $792.46 of cash (thank you – that especially makes my heart happy). That combined with our $808 we will be donating from our pizza count brings our total donation to the programs at Bissell Centre to $1600. And that my friends, is a very happy birthday in our eyes. Thank you for your love, support, encouragement, friendship over the last two years. We say it all the time, but we really truly, undeniably have the BEST customers. From our family to yours, thank you so much for the last two years