Articles covering women in foodservice and the restaurant industry's progress toward achieving gender equality
‘Save the Cups’ exceeds half of goal in 1st two weeks of October-long campaign
Swig, the regional drinks and snack restaurant concept, has raised more than $140,000 of its 2023 October goal of $250,000 in the fourth year of its “Save the Cups” breast-cancer fundraising campaign.
The Lehi, Utah-based company, which has 55 stores in five states, said the “Save the Cups” campaign allows customers to purchase featured drinks, merchandise like hoodies and Swig tumblers or to donate to the breast-cancer campaign.
The cause is personal to the 13-year-old Swig brand.
Swig founder Nicole Tanner was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. She had no insurance, but her medical bills were paid after she was approved through a hospital-qualifying program.
“It’s impossible to quantify how important Save the Cups is to me,” Tanner said in a statement. “I know exactly what these women have gone through. And to be able to support them in the same way I was helped has been profoundly meaningful.
“Four years in, I know this is so much bigger than me,” she said. “I often say that Swig was born so it could lead us to ‘Save the Cups.’”
Awareness plays a big role in the campaign, she said, because the American Cancer Society says the survival rate is 99% when the cancer is detected early — which was Tanner’s case.
In its first three years, the “Save the Cups” campaign raised more than $300,000 and helped more than 35 women pay their medical bills, the company noted.
"It's from the heart," said Rian McCartan, who was named CEO of Swig in October 2022. "It's authentic." Customers have awed him in the way they step up and donate, he said.
Amanda Covington, chief corporate affairs officer for the Sandy, Utah-based Larry H. Miller Co., which acquired a majority stake in Swig from The Savory Fund in November 2022, said: “Swig’s strong focus on giving back is on the reasons we fell in love with the brand.
“This year’s goal is ambitious for a one-month-long campaign, but Swig’s community is powerful and knows how to show up, sip, and support on another,” Covington added.
Swig has stores in five states: Arizona, Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. It has plans to open in Arkansas.
Leigh Anne Zinsmeister, editorial group managing editor, contributed to this report.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]
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