About the Create-A-Pepper partnership:

• During the Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer campaign, team members at participating Chili’s restaurants nationwide encourage guests to donate $1 or more for the opportunity to color a pinup of Chili’s signature pepper. The promotion lasts throughout September, which is National Childhood Cancer Awareness month.

• From the host or hostess at the front door, to the cooks in the heart of the house, team members adorn themselves in their Create-A-Pepper shirts, which they personally decorate and color. During the month of September, coloring sheets line the walls of Chili’s restaurants from coast to coast, greeting each new guest with the hope of helping to save a child’s life.

• The Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer program grew out of a local effort that began in 2002, when seven Memphis-area Chili’s raised $14,000 with nothing more than crayons and pepper coloring sheets. In 2003, the promotion expanded to include five Southeastern states; the regional effort raised $50,000.

• In 2004, Chili’s and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® engaged in a national partnership to raise funds through a coloring sheet campaign named Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer that would be held every September to coincide with National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. In addition, Chili’s donates 100 percent of its profits to St. Jude the last Monday in September.

• To date, Chili’s has raised more than $41 million as part of a 10-year, $50 million pledge to raise funds for the hospital. Once completed, the donation will be the largest donation from a single partner campaign in St. Jude history.

• Guests can also participate in the campaign by visiting www.createapepper.com to create an ecard to email to family and friends, make an online donation or purchase Create-A-Pepper T-shirts.

About the Chili’s Care Center:

• The Chili’s Care Center opened Nov. 14, 2007, and became the first medical building on the St. Jude campus to bear the name of a St. Jude corporate partner.

• The Chili’s Care Center is a seven-floor, 340,000-square-foot-facility that houses the Radiological Sciences department, the Bone Marrow Transplant impatient unit and new research labs for Pathology, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Virology.

About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital:

• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened in 1962 and was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas. Its mission is to find cures for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and around the world.

• The daily operating cost for St. Jude is approximately $1.8 million, which is primarily covered by public contributions.

• During the past five years, 81 percent of every dollar received has supported the research and treatment at Jude.

• St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatments that are not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay.

• Scientific discoveries at St. Jude are freely shared with the global medical community. This means that St. Jude’s research helps countless children.

• St. Jude is primarily supported by public contributions and promotions like the Create–A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer campaign that helps to continue to hospital’s life-saving work.

Visit our Image Gallery to download images of:

• Chili's Care Center on St. Jude campus in Memphis, Tenn.
• Lobby of Chili's Care Center on St. Jude Campus

	Create-A-Pepper Fact Sheet (124 KB)