WAKEFIELD, RI, February 11, 2013 — Looking to make a sweet gesture to a local non-profit?  Eleven Panera Bread/HBG bakery-cafes in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts are currently conducting a “Cookies for Kids!” campaign until Valentine’s Day, Thursday, February 14^th where 10 percent of the proceeds from every freshly baked Valentine cookie sold will go directly to Operation Dough-Nation^® partner, Children’s Friend based in Providence, Rhode Island.  The decorated shortbread cookies feature three different versions of conversation hearts that say “Love You”, “XOXO” and “Be Mine”.  All the participating Panera Bread bakery-cafes, with locations in Cranston, East Greenwich, Providence, Newport, Smithfield, Wakefield and Warwick, Rhode Island and North Attleborough, North Dartmouth, Plainville and Seekonk, Massachusetts, are owned by one of Panera’s top franchises, the Howley Bread Group, LTD of Cumberland, Rhode Island.

Operation Dough-Nation^® is a program committed to ensuring that purchases at Panera Bread feed back into the community.  Cash donations by customers at each bakery-cafe were increased through various matching programs by Panera/HBG and are donated to local organizations. Children’s Friend, with headquarters on 153 Summer St. in Providence, RI, is the oldest child-welfare organization in the state and a leading provider of child welfare, family support, mental health and your development services.  All funds raised go directly to the programs that support at risk young children and their families.

Over the past 10 years, Panera Bread/HBG and its loyal customers have helped collect and donate over $648,453 to its five local Operation Dough-Nation charity partners, as well as contributions to Haiti Relief, local hurricane and tornado relief through the American Red Cross and breast cancer awareness through the company’s Pink Ribbon Bagel campaign with area hospital partners.  Panera Bread/HBG has also donated $3 million dollars a year in bakery items to churches, shelters and food pantries as part of its Day End program.  Panera Bread/HBG has a Donations Department where organizations can request food donations for various non-profit fundraisers and events.  Please visit www.panerabreadhbg.com and click on “Donations, Partnerships and Charities” to either request a donation or see more about our Operation Dough-Nation partners.

All Panera Bread locations are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and offer a variety of menu items -- including breads and bagels, breakfast sandwiches, creative lunch and dinner sandwiches, hand-tossed salads, homemade soups and a variety of espresso beverages.  Panera Bread Catering also caters and delivers its full menu for any occasion at the office or home. The breakfast, lunch and dinner assortment is sure to impress every time.  For a Panera Bread Catering menu and more, please visit a cafe or www.paneracatering.com.

All the participating Panera Bread bakery-cafes are owned by one of Panera’s top franchises, the Howley Bread Group, LTD of Cumberland, RI.  The franchisee owns and operates a total of twenty-five bakery-cafes in: Greater Hartford/Eastern, CT (Bristol, Canton, Enfield, Farmington, Foxwoods, Glastonbury, Groton, Lisbon, Manchester (2), Newington, Waterford, West Hartford and Wethersfield); Southeastern, MA (North Attleborough, North Dartmouth, Plainville and Seekonk); and RI (Providence, Cranston, Warwick, East Greenwich, Newport, Smithfield and Wakefield) markets.  For more information, please contact one of Howley Bread Group’s Panera Bread bakery-cafes in the area or visit the company’s web site at www.panerabreadhbg.com.

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