Celebrate Thanksmas for the Eleventh Year in a row at Glory Days

Former Rays Manager Joe Maddon Will Serve at Tampa’s Metropolitan Ministries  

TAMPA, FL--- New Los Angeles Angels Manager Joe Maddon’s Respect 90 Foundation will again partner with Tampa-based PDQ, backpack provider CITYPAK and sock maker DivvyUp, and a first-time sponsor Glory Days Grill to bring Maddon’s Thanksmas to homeless shelters in the Tampa Bay area for the eleventh year.

Maddon will be at Tampa’s Metropolitan Ministries (2002 N. Florida Avenue) to kick off 2019 Thanksmas on Wednesday, October 30 at 4:30 p.m.

PDQ and Glory Days Grill will provide meals at the Thanksmas shelters, CITYPAK will provide 1,000 custom designed, versatile, backpacks, and Florida-based DivvyUp will provide 1,200 pairs of socks. 

As manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, Maddon hosted Thanksmas for eight years between 2006 and 2013 and provided meals, supplies, and grants benefiting thousands of needy citizens from Fort Myers to Orlando. Thanksmas returned in 2017 after a three-year hiatus. In ten years, Thanksmas has provided more than 12,000 meals to local homeless shelters.

Next month, Thanksmas will continue at six other local shelters: Homeless Empowerment Program in Clearwater, Tampa Children’s Network, Tampa Salvation Army, Sallie House in St. Petersburg, Pinellas Hope, and Bradenton Salvation Army.

“None of this happens without the volunteers and the support of partners like PDQ, CITYPAK, DivvyUp, and Glory Days Grill,” said Maddon. “We are so grateful to them and proud of the association we share with the managers and directors of the shelters we have visited over the past ten years.”

“Our PDQ and Glory Days Grill teams are proud to once again partner with Joe and his Respect 90 Foundation to give back to those in need in the Tampa Bay area this holiday season,” said Nick Reader, PDQ CEO and Co-Founder and Glory Days Grill Florida Partner. “We are honored to work with Joe to impact so many lives, and play a part in his tremendous work not only here locally, but in communities across the country."

“The CITYPAK Project has distributed 54,000 paks in 130 cities in North America. This could only be achieved by working with great partners like Joe Maddon’s Respect 90 Foundation,” said CITYPAK Founder Ron Kaplan. "We are stoked to help out Joe Maddon and Respect 90 with their Thanksmas initiative once again,” said Jason McIntosh, Chief Operating officer and Founder of DivvyUp. “We are grateful to play a small role in the amazing work of respect 90 and Joe."

Respect 90 seeks to provide children and families opportunities to develop championship attitudes through sports, academics, and community involvement in all the places the couple calls home: Chicago, IL, Tampa, FL, Mesa, AZ, Southern CA, and Joe’s hometown of Hazleton, PA. The Respect 90 Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization as registered with the Internal Revenue Service and gifts are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Founded in 2011, award-winning PDQ - short for "People Dedicated to Quality” - offers chef-driven recipes and mindful ingredients typically found in a fine casual restaurant with the value, speed and convenience of the fast food and fast casual segment. Outback Steakhouse co-founder Bob Basham and MVP Holdings CEO Nick Reader are the two principal owners of PDQ. Beloved throughout the Southeast and now beyond for its hand-breaded chicken tenders and signature sauces, PDQ also crafts delicious sandwiches, salads, and hand-spun milkshakes fresh in store, every day. PDQ is committed to creating deep roots in its local communities and has given millions in dollars and in-kind donations to local charities, schools, and organizations since its inception. On October 30, 2011, the original PDQ restaurant opened its doors in Tampa (FL) and the concept now has grown nationwide throughout Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah. For more information, visit www.eatPDQ.com.

GLORY DAYS GRILL is a full-service, sports-themed family restaurant known for its commitment to quality food, supporting a variety of local sports groups, and community involvement. Every restaurant brings together award-winning menus accompanied by numerous large screen televisions tuned to a variety of sports, cartoons, news and entertainment offerings.  Tables and booths have individual volume-controlled speaker stations adding to the guest’s enjoyment. Glory Days Grill features signature fan-fare favorites with many entrees starting at just $10. Signature Dishes in Florida include Glory Days Grill's award winning wings and sauces, Mac N Cheese Bites, Macho Nachos, 1988 Sirloin, Fabulous Fish Fry, Baby Back Ribs, Glory Burger, Beef on Weck, and Glory Days Monte Cristo. Lighter fare includes a wide variety of salads, such as the Glory Days Cobb Salad, as well as delicious flatbreads. The selection of desserts includes signature favorite Oreo Sliders and Chocolate Cake. Glory Days Grill Florida owns and operates 12 locations across the state: New Tampa, Palm Harbor, Carrollwood, Odessa, St Pete, Tyrone, Brandon, Lakeland, Brooksville, Sarasota, Ft Myers, Tallahassee, and Wesley Chapel (opening November 2019).

The CITYPAK Project is a not-for-profit philanthropic organization that works to provide custom designed backpacks to homeless persons in need. Working with exclusive manufacturing partner High Sierra, The CITYPAK Project will have distributed over 42,000+ PAKs to homeless in 99+ cities by years end across North America, including Chicago, IL; Tampa, FL; New York, NY; Boulder, Colorado; Maui, Hawaii; Austin, Texas; Boston, MA; San Francisco, CA; and Los Angeles, CA, and international distributions in Toronto and Vancouver.  The CITYPAK Project provides a safe, convenient, and versatile backpack uniquely designed to meet the constantly changing needs of the homeless.   

A division of Samsonite LLC, High Sierra designs feature-rich, versatile outdoor lifestyle gear for adventurers everywhere. Since our founding in 1978, we’ve committed ourselves to creating durable, affordable product with distinctive details, delivering the freedom to go anywhere—near or far, on roads or trails, on mountain ridges or snowy slopes, no matter what form your adventure takes. In 2012, High Sierra formed a design partnership with the Chicago-based CITYPAK Project [501(c)(3)] to create purposeful, utilitarian backpacks for the homeless. High Sierra is also proud to be the Official Bags supplier to the U.S. Ski, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing teams. High Sierra. Adventure This Way.  www.highsierra.com

For More Information Contact: Rick Vaughn, 727-741-7300/rvaughn@respect90.org