White Castle in $100,000 giveaway to vaccinated employees
White Castle is giving its employees a reason to get vaccinated.
The family-owned, fast-food hamburger chain is launching a month-long program to thank its frontline employees who opt to receive the COVID-19 vaccine: $100,000 in cash prizes. The giveaway, internally referred to as VAX-a-Thousands, invites any of White Castle's 10,000 workers to submit proof of at least one COVID-19 vaccine to be automatically entered to win $500, one of 200 such cash payments being awarded during the month of September.
For four weeks starting the week of Sept. 6, White Castle will randomly select 50 winners each week among those eligible to receive $500. Employees in more senior positions will be excluded from eligibility to focus the benefit primarily on frontline workers. (The $100,000 prize total is a nod to the 100th birthday of White Castle’s iconic “Slider” burger, which is being celebrated throughout 2021.)
"We are encouraged by our team's immediate response to the available vaccines this year," said Jamie Richardson, a VP at White Castle. "Our VAX-a-Thousands giveaway is a meaningful way to thank our essential team members and inspire others to get vaccinated.”
Richardson added that the safety of White Castle’s members, their families and the communities it serves has been a top priority since the company began operations in 1921.
"Today more than ever as we power through the pandemic, we want to be here in ways that matter for our team members,” he said.
The $100,000 giveaway is the latest in a series of campaigns from White Castle to support people during the pandemic. This past April, customers who showed proof of a vaccine were given their choice of free desserts-on-a-stick. In spring 2020, White Castle gave away $1 million worth of free combo meals to EMTs, paramedics, nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals who were risking their own health and safety to ensure the safety of their communities.
In addition, throughout the summer of 2020, White Castle delivered more than 15,000 free Sliders to hospital, grocery store and retail food workers. The chain also provided a 20% discount to grocery store and retail food workers, first responders, healthcare workers and to all school employees.
Based in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle owns and operates more than 350 restaurants. Through its retail division, which launched in 1987, White Castle also sells its signature fare grocery, convenience and club stores nationwide.
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