Papa Murphy’s Richard Averitte On Giving Back

Richard: A school teacher. My parents taught in Cumberland County schools for 20+ years each.

Me: How did you begin your career at Papa Murphy’s?

Richard: I was hired as an Area Manager of the North Carolina market and was promoted in 2019 to VP of Marketing of our organization, Twickenham Holdings, LLC. We are the Papa Murphy’s Pizza franchise in North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.

Me:  How do you like your pizza?  Hot or Cold?

Richard: Hot.

Me:  If you could bring one change to the community through your position, what would it be?

Richard: Assist in the battle of food insecurity and be an advocate for childhood literacy.

Me: What’s your perfect movie night look like?

Pizza & A Movie, Pizza & A Board Game, Pizza & A Book, Pizza & Silence

Richard: Pizza & A Movie

Me: How do you strive to give back to the community through Papa Murphy’s Fayetteville locations?

Richard: We have a number of fundraising opportunties for schools and non-profits. We also have a standing offer to provide free pizza vouchers for our non-profit and school partners.

Me: What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Pepperoni, Sausage, Mushroom, ALL the things, Nothing at all

Richard: Pepperoni

Me: How can we [the community] help Papa Murphy’s give back to the community?

Richard: Share with us opportunties! We are grateful to serve this community!

Giving Back

Here are just a few ways Papa Murphy’s has given back to our North Carolina community:

• Bringing the ‘Mighty Pizza Trailer’ onsight to deliver fresh-baked pizza to 400 Residents of Cape Fear Valley for Wellness Day (August 2020)
• Serving as a Proud Supporter of NC State Athletics
• Supporting the NC State University Feed The Pack community-based Initiative that operates a food pantry on the NCState main campus. Each week our Oberlin Rd location donates take ‘n bake pizzas and fills the pantry’s coolers to help students, faculty, and staff battling food insecurity.
• Raising $1,240 as part of a multi-store fundraiser hosted as donations to NC University Feed The Pack (October 2020)
• The Wake County locations participated in a fundraiser for UNC Children’s Hospital campaign called “Pizza for Peds” where every Wednesday for the month of September we donated 15% of sales to UNC Children’s Hospital. (September 2020)
• The Goldsboro location donated 25% of all sales to United Way of the Wayne County #FillTheTheatre food drive for the community (October 2020)
• Hosted a week-long fundraiser with our community partners at Nami Wake to bring awareness to Mental Illness Awareness Week (October 2020)
• The Fayetteville and Hope Mills locations donated 25% of all sales to benefit Fayetteville Technical Community College’s new food pantry. The food pantry provides personal items and non-perishable foods to students facing hardships! (December 2020)
• The Wake County locations did a fundraiser for Second Chance Pets and raised $1,223 for this wonderful, local non-profit (December 2020)
• Partnered with Wake County Government and The Poe Center – Raleigh to provide a Christmas lunch to some folks in need. We brought out the mighty pizza trailer and served over 75 pizzas! (December 2020)
• All 14 NC locations (Wake, New Hanover, Cumberland, and Wayne counties) donated 25% of ALL sales to Make A Wish Eastern North Carolina (January 2021)
• Supported a fundraiser for Centennial Campus Middle School during their school supply pickup. Sold take ‘n bake pizzas for $10 and donated $5 back to the school’s PTA! (January 2021)
• Partnered to support NC Community Action #TheBigPopUp at PNC Arena – participated by providing a voucher for a free pizza. (January 2021)
• Proud supporter of Girl Scouts – NC Coastal Pines and happily hosting cookie booths all across our North Carolina stores!
• Partnered once again with UNC Children’s to donate $2 for every side item sold (including salads, desserts, and five-cheese bread) in-store and online to support UNC Children’s Hospital! (February 2021)

Papa Murphy’s Pizza has a variety of fundraising options for schools and non-profits! From spirit nights to pizza pickups, they do all the heavy lifting to make fundraising easy and fun! Contact lauren@pm-nc.com for information on how they can partner with you!