Duo will send more than 60,000 “patriotic pies”
Cookeville – MoonPie and Averitt Express recently teamed up to deliver more than 10,000 boxes containing a total of more than 60,000 MoonPies to Fort Campbell to thank soldiers for their service to our country.
The pies were donated as part of the bakery’s regional school fundraising campaign. Schools that participate in the “Patriotic Pies” program earn funds as their supporters purchase MoonPies. The school supporter making the purchase can choose to receive their order or can direct their MoonPies to be sent to members of the military.
Schools all over the Southeast took part in fundraisers to donate pies to soldiers at Fort Campbell.
“We at USO Fort Campbell cherish the donations of freshly baked MoonPies from the ‘Patriotic Pies’ project made possible by schools and their supporters,” said Ann Jarvis, executive director, USO – Fort Campbell. “They are a delight, and we always see smiles when service members receive them across Fort Campbell and our surrounding military community. The USO serves the people of our military, and freshly baked MoonPies make that a little more delicious!”
Tory Johnston, Chattanooga Bakery’s vice president of sales and marketing, says it is an honor to support the military.
“MoonPie has long been a little taste of home for our military personnel, and we are super honored to get to treat them to all these bakery fresh MoonPies as part of the ‘Patriotic Pies’ program,” said Johnston. “We thank our school fundraising supporters for partnering with us this semester. We hope we can bring a smile and happy memory to many of our troops this holiday season.”
Averitt Express delivered the MoonPies from Chattanooga Bakery to Fort Campbell, 197 miles, at no cost.
“Averitt is proud to play a role in any project that shows appreciation to members of the military, especially with the holiday season approaching. We were honored to provide the transportation for the ‘Patriotic Pies’ program,” said Barry Blakely, Averitt president and chief operating officer. “At Averitt, we have a special appreciation for our men and women in uniform. We are a veteran-owned company. About 15% of our associates are veterans. And we’re proud to have won several awards for hiring veterans and for our commitment to provide meaningful benefits to military personnel.”
For more information about the “Patriotic Pies” school fundraising program, visit moonpie.com/fundraising.
“The Patriotic Pie program was an amazing addition to our fundraiser,” said Faires Hester, Athens City Intermediate School’s PTO president. “Our community has a rich heritage of military service, and giving supporters an option to purchase MoonPies for active military really excited the children. While selling for their school is important, this program gave them a real sense of helping others. We even partnered with our local National Guard unit to help unload the pies with the children, and they all loved being together!”
Photo courtesy of Averitt.
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