Wings Etc. hosts volleyball tournament to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

The event combines the brand’s good food, great times philosophy with the Wings Etc. Foundation’s mission to improve children’s lives

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—The Wings Etc. Foundation is pleased to host a volleyball tournament on June 22 to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The event will take place at the Wings Beach Club, adjacent to the Wings Etc. Grill and Pub in Osceola, Indiana. The Wings Beach Club is home to six lighted, regulation-size beach volleyball courts, an outdoor bar and patio, and a large sandbox/play area.

Funds are raised through entry fees ($120 per team), T-shirt sales, raffles and menu and drink specials. A portion of sales of a selected food item and beverage from the menu also will be donated to St. Jude.

The event is organized by the Wings Etc. Foundation Events Committee. Their goal for the June 22 tournament and the second competition to follow on August 17 is $5,500.

Fundraising via a volleyball tournament is a natural fit for the Wings Beach Club, where the restaurant hosts league play. “It made it a very easy decision to find a day that we could tap into the excitement that surrounds beach volleyball and combine it with our Wings Etc. Foundation mission and partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis,” says Eric Stuczynski, Wings Etc. CDO/CPO and president of the Wings Etc. Foundation. “We would like to continue to follow our mission of improving children’s lives. This event will help us to raise money, which will be donated to St. Jude in early September.”

The Wings Etc. Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization administered by leaders in the Wings Etc. Grill & Pub franchise organization and its affiliated companies, was founded in September 2023 to further the brand’s corporate value of giving back. Their efforts are driven by the belief that they have a responsibility to make a difference.

“Several directors on our board have had experiences with family members who have gone to St. Jude or another children’s hospital. Because of these experiences, it was easy to create a vision for the Wings Etc. Foundation,” Stuczynski says. “We all agreed that helping children to grow up healthy and live a full life was the most important reason for the existence of the foundation.”

The charity volleyball tournament on June 22 is a round robin, seeded tournament for co-ed teams of four players each. It includes a cash prize pool totaling $1,700. The registration deadline is June 21; details and signup information can be found at beachclub.wingsetc.info.

The volleyball tournament is part of a bigger partnership with St. Jude. In April Wings Etc. presented St. Jude representatives with a $50,000 check reflecting Wings Etc. customer donations collected since September 2023 via in-store messaging in entryways, on tabletops and on closed-circuit TV screens, and outbound messaging to Wings Etc. Grill & Pub email list members and social media followers.

Consumers also are able to round up their checks on behalf of St. Jude, and Wings Etc. Inc. and its franchisees also host a number of events throughout the year that bring in dollars through entry fees and donations by participants.

For more information about the Wings Etc. Foundation, please see wingsetcfoundation.com.

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About Wings Etc. Grill & Pub

Wings Etc. is proud to celebrate 30 years of growth and good times this year. Founded in 1994 by Jim Weaver in northern Indiana, Wings Etc. is a family-friendly grill and pub featuring award-winning jumbo Buffalo wings, 21 signature sauces and rubs, dozens of TVs tuned to sports programming and a casual, non-corporate-y, laid-back vibe that makes people want to just come in and hang out. See wingsetc.com.

With 80 corporate and franchise locations, Wings Etc. has been listed among Entrepreneur magazine’s “Top 500 Franchises” every year since 2021 and was included in the magazine’s “Top Five Best Sports Bars” in 2021. It has been named one of Franchise Business Review’s “Top Food Franchises” every year since 2020 and a “Top 200 Franchise” every year since 2019. Wings Etc. has been included in Franchise Gator’s “Top 100 Franchises” seven times since 2014 and its “Fastest Growing Franchises” seven times since 2016; it was among the “Top Emerging Franchises” in 2023. It has been named a “Top 400 Franchise” by Franchise Times every year since 2021 and a “Top 500 Franchise” by Nation’s Restaurant News every year since 2021. See www.wingsetcfranchise.com.

The Wings Etc. Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to improving children’s lives. See www.wingsetcfoundation.com. 

©2024 Wings Etc., Inc. Franchises independently owned and operated.