Panera Bread Plainville's Pal-Apalooza Event Raises $3,054 For Ryan's Hope Foundation

October 16, 2013 —Panera Bread Plainville, located at 103 Taunton Street, announces that its recent Pal-apalooza event which was hosted by the Plainville Athletic League at its Everett Skinner Road field complex raised a total of $3,054.65 for Panera’s Operation Dough-Nation® partner, the Ryan’s Hope Foundation, also based in Plainville. The free admission, family-focused event was open to the public and featured a Kids’ Home Run Derby, a whiffleball tournament, a speed pitch game, face painting, prizes, a cook-out and a Panera employee softball game.

Plainville’s Linda and Scott Hastings formed the Ryan’s Hope Foundation in 2003 after their young son, Ryan, was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).  DMD is a progressive muscular disease that strikes approximately one in every 3,500 young boys. The Foundation was formed specifically to speed the rate of scientific research that will lead to a cure for DMD.  Information about the Ryan’s Hope Foundation, a non-profit, 501©(3) organization, can be found at www.HopeForRyan.com. 

"On just a beautiful day for baseball, Panera, the Plainville Athletic League and the local community hit a home run for Ryan and our efforts help find a cure for DMD,” said Linda Hastings, President of the Ryan’s Hope Foundation.  “We have every reason to be optimistic as we’re hearing that more drugs will be available within the next 5 years to treat muscular dystrophy than ever before.”

“Everyone had such a great time, especially Ryan and the whole Hastings family,” said Amanda daCunha, Marketing Coordinator for Panera Bread/Howley Bread Group.  “We’re already looking forward to sponsoring the event next year and have begun thinking of more fun Pal-apalooza activities to support the cause.”

In addition to Panera Bread/Howley Bread Group, the sponsors of the event were the Plainville Athletic League, the Red Sox Team Store, Plainville Pump & Excavating, CK Design & Photo and Every Day PE along with activity booths Avon, Usborne Books, Fine Face Painting and Bounce with Us.

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, pastas, 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.

Howley Bread Group, LTD of Cumberland, Rhode Island, a leading Panera Bread franchisee,  owns and operates a total of twenty-six bakery-cafes in: Greater Hartford/Eastern, Connecticut (Bristol, Canton, Enfield, Farmington, Foxwoods, Glastonbury, Groton, Hartford, Lisbon, Manchester (2), Newington, Waterford, West Hartford and Wethersfield); Southeastern, Massachusetts (North Attleborough, North Dartmouth, Plainville and Seekonk); and RI (Cranston, Warwick, East Greenwich, Newport, Providence, Smithfield and Wakefield) markets.

For more information, please contact the Panera Plainville bakery-cafe at 103 Taunton Street, Plainville, MA (Intersection of Routes 1 and 152), call the cafe at 508-643-4515 or visithttps://palapalooza.eventbrite.com/.