Every time Gold Star daughter Hanna Davis gets a chance to talk about her dad, Army 1st Lt. Jeffrey Davis, she takes it.
So when Folds of Honor, a military-focused nonprofit that provides academic scholarships to Gold Star spouses and children, asked her to speak at the launch of their new partnership with Blaze Pizza at Disney World, the scholarship recipient gave an enthusiastic ‘yes’.
“I would be in a very different position in my life as a young adult if not for Folds of Honor,” Davis said amongst the crowd of approximately 100 people on June 13. “More than the financial support, especially for my family, Folds has been a community. They sent us a text on Memorial Day that said, ‘We’re thinking of you today,’ and things like that have been lifechanging.”
It’s stories like Davis’ that prompted Blaze Pizza, a 13-year-old custom pizza chain with approximately 340 locations in 38 states and six countries, to partner with Folds of Honor. From now on, whenever a customer places an order (with choices like pizzas, salads, desserts, drinks, kid-friendly options and sides), they will be asked if they would like to round up to the next dollar for a donation to Folds of Honor. Money donated will stay local, providing scholarships to nearby Gold Star families.
“This partnership with Folds of Honor is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” said Christian Kuhn, Blaze’s chief marketing officer. “It’s going to give Blaze a purpose we’ve never had before.”
Kuhn, a Navy brat, is not only the catalyst for the “Trailblazing Pie-oneers Program” with Folds of Honor, but also for launching 14 new menu items officially debuting this summer. The refreshed menu is a first for the Atlanta-based chain, including a folded pizza cheekily in honor of Folds of Honor.
“This brand had lost all sense of purpose, all fun, all sense of innovation,” said Kuhn, who arrived at Blaze only four months ago. “We’ve been working really hard and are going to recognize people through Trailblazing Pie-oneers who have done really amazing things, including our first Pie-oneer tonight, Folds of Honor’s founder, Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Rooney.”
On Rooney’s behalf, Blaze donated $10,000 to Folds of Honor at the launch with an oversized check. A franchisee then doubled their donation on the spot, which will result in four scholarships.
“There’s no downside to tonight whatsoever,” said Kuhn, whose sister and brother-in-law were also sailors. “We have a ballpark estimate of raising between $1.8 million and $2.5 million in the first year for Folds, and we’ll go from there, because we’re keeping this program running indefinitely.”
Folds of Honor’s leadership team began communicating with Blaze about a potential partnership within a week of Kuhn’s hiring, said Folds’ Chief Development Officer Ben Leslie. He and Kuhn had already known each other for around a decade when Kuhn approached him with the concept.
“Blaze comes up with the ideas, and it’s our job to award the money and be efficient with it,” Leslie said. “Pizza means nothing to us beyond food, but Folds of Honor just wants to help people, and people who need help who maybe have never heard of Folds will have the opportunity to learn about it through Blaze.”
Diners can choose from new options like spicy cheese bread, drizzled cinnamon bread, spicy pepperoni fast fired fold, carnivore pizza and grape, gorgonzola and greens salad. When good food is coupled with the chance to bless the Gold Star community, Blaze Pizza’s CEO said, amazing things will happen.
“When someone believes in you and you have purpose and passion, you’re an unstoppable force,” Beto Guajardo told the crowd. “Those in the military who sacrificed it all, the one percent for the rest of us — are we not so fortunate that we live here in this country?”
“So I want my guests to go, ‘I’m proud to go to Blaze, because they have purpose to give back.’”
