Today is Giving Tuesday. It's an annual day of giving or showing up for an issue that we care about. So in light of that, we had an exclusive interview with the leaders of Jersey Mike Subs and Best Buddies International about their partnership to hire people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in each of Jersey Mike's nearly three thousand stores.
Take a listen, and I think people are starving for community, and I think Best Buddies offered such a great community
of caring, community of giving, community of support. And I think, you know, with Peter and Jersey Mikes and the support we get from Corporate America International companies, it's a great combination because jobs, job opportunities for people intellectual disabilities are so sought after and so necessary since the unemployment rates eighty five percent, and making people intellectual disabilities feel like they're part of a corporate culture, and a corporate culture
that gives and cares and recognizes that, as I keep saying to Peter, you can make a lot of money and do good at the same time. And I think a lot of corporations don't really recognize that and understand that you can really be profitable and really do good.
Go together and.
Peter, I mean you're involvement with Best Buddies there's relatively new. But your involvement in giving and dealing with some of the issues that Anthony just talked about, you've been doing that for years.
Yeah. So first got involved in nineteen seventy five, believe it or not, so watching Bob Hoffman and Jack Baker, local business guys gave to the community, to the First Aid to the Kids programs, and I said, that's what we're going to do. So we always gave from the hearts and that's our mission statement. We have all of our owners that get involved as well. But Best Buddies,
I mean so great. Every store has about fifteen employees, small team, and when the Best Buddy joins become part of that family in the community that they serve, it's really just a magic, magic touch.
Anthony mentioned that you can make a lot of money and do good at the same time. I know that you recently had a fundraising Bonanza Week where you raised a lot of money and also brought in a lot of sales. Can you talk us through some of the numbers?
Sure? Sure, So we went with the campaign during election week and even Tuesday we're on major news networks running the ads and then the college football game of the week. Our whole media plan was geared towards Best Buddies, and I think the whole nation came out. And usually we raise about four million on the special weekend programs that we do, but this weekend we raise what five point three million, So incredible turnout, incredible success for the cause and Anthony.
The program allows for Best Buddies to work in Jersey Mikes stores. The idea is to have at least one Best Buddy in every one of Jersey Mikes three thousand, almost three thousand stores. What's been the feedback from those who are working there.
I mean it's huge, right, I mean it's a game changer for us. I mean I've been at this thirty five years. I think you know, my mother would wouldn't believe that this was happening when she started Special within the sixties. That you know, a corporate leader like this commits that kind of money, that kind of creativity, and commits to that number of jobs. There's no company in the world that has committed three thousand jobs in the
history of this operation ever. Ever, so it's a really huge monumental step in the right direction for the employment of people intellectual disabilities and really making them feel like they count and they matter and they have a seat at the table.
I do want to talk a little bit about your origin story, because it's just kind of the whole creation of Jersey Mike's is kind of like it's like a Hollywood movie. You know, you're basically a teenager who somehow to pull together one hundred and twenty five grand or whatever it was. You buy a local submarine shop, you turn it into this big franchise, and you just recently sold it off the Blackstone for a good chunk of money.
Now so I heard and billions.
And it's I mean, everyone watching this and watching the trajectory of your career, I think would want to model themselves, not just because of the success and the money that you made, but also to what I think what Anthony is getting to is the ethos and the culture of getting that sort of helped to fuel that.
I think a lot of people so they come into the stores and they say, hey, we hear what you're doing for the community, for the kids, and that's why we're here, And oh yeah, your subs are good. It's almost secondary and it's kind of funny, but it's something that we've always done and all the owners really get it and they're all engaged in it. So that's what's
so great. So it was a football coach of mine, youth football coach that was a banker, and on a Sunday night I went in and said, hey, you know, he said, I think we can do something, and he did so seventeen in high school, took over, went to homeroom history class and skipped Jim and a few other classes, but they finally did graduate me and then just work the business. So I call it fifty years overnight success.
This March will be fifty years wow. So it a slow climb from really the last decade, you know with the media and the marketing, but the giving has been just NonStop talk about.
The managerial and industry specific support you anticipate from this partnership with Blackstone, and how you're going to keep that corporate culture, which includes partnerships with best buddies intact.
Well, they get the corporate culture, they see it, they understand it, and absolutely will continue with it. They see that it's part of our huge success that we've had, that people accept us in every community we go in and it just really takes off. The brand now is so strong. But them coming in and getting involved great international possibilities. We're close to an announcement with London, England, United Kingdom maybe in a month or so. We started
in Canada outside Toronto, so the expansion looks great. Of course the US we have a long way to go as well.
I got to ask one more final question about the path forward for Jersey Lakes now that this Blackstone deal has been announced. You're known for being a very hands on owner your franchises. How do you anticipate that involving with Blackstone's partnership.
Well, January, I go start January, February March, go to thirty five cities across the country to make sure we have a great transition, to answer questions, to get in front of managers assistant managers. So that will continue very strongly. And also in England. I'm going to be driving sites with the owners and you know, I love that part of it, just being involved and of course still slicing the subs. I'm still the fastest slicer.
Peter Kancrow there of course, the billionaire founder of Jersey Mike Subtz, alongside Anthony Kennedy Shriver of Best Buddies, talking not only about his business, but more importantly Scarlett obviously some of the charitable work that he tries to sort of facilitate through his business with reguards of Best Buddies and dealing with people with the intellectual and development disabilities, a great, great project,