CARPINTERIA, Calif. — Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants across the United States raised more than $650,000 in May during a three-week, in-store fundraiser benefiting breast cancer awareness.
The "Pink Star" campaign allowed guests to visit their local Carl's Jr. or Hardee's restaurant and donate monies to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF).
For each $1 donation, restaurant guests received a personalized commemorative pink Happy Star cutout to place on a restaurant lobby display. Happy Star is an icon for both the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurant chains, and pink represents breast cancer awareness.
Guests who made donations also received a coupon to redeem a free beverage on a future visit. Carl's Jr. and Hardee's supplier Imaging Technologies of Atlanta also donated the cost of all printed materials related to the Pink Star program.
The "Pink Star" program was initiated in 2005 by the Carl's Jr. franchise body, the Star Franchise Association, and expanded to a system-wide Carl's Jr. promotion with company-operated restaurant support in 2006.
In 2007, it expanded again to include nearly 3,000 Carl's Jr. and Hardee's franchises and company-operated restaurants across the country.
According to the NBCF, more than 211,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year — and 43,300 will die. One woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. In addition, 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and 400 will die.
If detected early, the five-year breast cancer survival rate exceeds 95 percent.
