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Arizona Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson Celebrates Pick Up a Book
Reading Challenge Winner with Papa John’s Pizza Party

A program of the Patrick Peterson Foundation for Success

PHOENIX, Ariz. (Feb. 3, 2015) – In the midst of the frenzy of Super Bowl weekend, Arizona Cardinals’ Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson made time for a visit to San Marcos Elementary School on Friday afternoon to celebrate with the victor of his Pick Up a Book Reading Challenge, a literacy initiative of his Foundation for Success.

“It is a really amazing feeling to be back at the school where I launched my challenge to celebrate these students as winners,” said Peterson. “It is so cool to think that it was my encouragement that motivated San Marcos Elementary School to win the challenge and that these kids found a love for reading, which is such an important part of success.”

In an effort to bring families, schools and communities together to promote children’s literacy development, Patrick Peterson and his Foundation for Success kicked off the school year with its Pick Up a Book Reading Challenge in early September at San Marcos Elementary School.

Peterson challenged 60 local Phoenix schools to each read a combined 100,000 minutes this fall. Students logged their individual reading minutes online throughout the semester. The school with the highest number of combined reading minutes would earn a school-wide pizza party with Peterson, sponsored by Papa John’s.

More than 500 San Marcos Elementary School students gathered with Peterson on Friday afternoon at a school-wide Papa John’s Pizza Party to celebrate their hard work of reading the highest number of combined minutes. With a total of 524,787 minutes, San Marcos Elementary School ranked fourth in the national Scholastic READ 100,000 program.

“The students enjoyed the pizza party with Patrick Peterson and Papa John,” said San Marcos Elementary Principal Becky Henderson. “Earlier in the year, Patrick motivated the students to read, and our school was the first to reach 100,000 minutes of reading! Patrick fulfilled his promise to return to the school and gave every student a pizza party.”

Papa John’s Founder, Chairman, President and CEO John Schnatter also presented a $58,000 check to the Patrick Peterson Foundation for Success as a result of a partnership throughout the season. When customers ordered the Patrick Peterson Special online with the promotional code “PATRICK,” $1.21 of each order was donated to the Patrick Peterson Foundation for Success.

The Patrick Peterson Foundation for Success | The mission of the Patrick Peterson Foundation for Success is to provide low-income and inner city youth with opportunities and resources to reach their full potential. For more information, please visit patrickpeterson.org.

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