Since 2013, Buffalo Wild Wings has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) to fund All Stars, a sports program that aims to increase opportunities for physical activity, social interaction, and recognition for youth ages 6-18.
For the month of October, guests across the country were asked to donate $1 or $5 to support the program, and in just one month, Buffalo Wild Wings raised approximately $1.38 million to fund All Stars. An impressive number, but what’s even more shocking is that of that amount, over $200,000 was raised by one market in the Texas South region – resulting in some interesting outcomes for a regional vice president and a general manager.
“One of our values at Buffalo Wild Wings is community, and everybody at this company has always been very passionate about that,” said regional vice president Bryan Soltis. “When you drill that down a little bit – being involved in your community is one thing, but being involved with helping kids in the community is a priority for all of us.”
Teaming up with BGCA was one of the deciding factors for Doug when he first started with Buffalo Wild Wings seven years ago.
“Looking at the big picture of why I came to Buffalo Wild Wings… hearing district manager Don Semien talk about the company values and its emphasis on community – it really hit home because I had a connection with the Boys and Girls Club in the past,” Doug said.
In 2020, the Texas South region raised $128,000 for All Stars, so when Bryan and general manager, Doug Florence challenged the team to hit $200,000, it was initially meant to be a joke.
“I just threw it out there – ‘hey if we raise 200 grand, I’ll shave my head’. I wasn’t thinking that the team would really raise $72,000 more than they did last year, but they did,” said Bryan. “Then Doug said, ‘Well if you do that, I’ll shave my eyebrows’.”
Once the Texas South region realized they did in fact hit the $200,000 goal, Bryan and Doug held up their end of the deal.
Buffalo Wild Wings will continue to team up with BGCA, and everyone is already looking forward to surpassing their goal next year.
To learn more about Buffalo Wild Wings’ partnership with BGCA, visit https://www.bgca.org/programs/sports-recreation/all-stars.
