St. Louis Shop 'n Save, Kretschmar Help Grant Wish
An alliance between Supervalu's St. Louis-based Shop 'n Save subsidiary, Kretschmar Premium Deli Meats and Make-A-Wish helped a six-year old boy battling Leukemia make his major league debut by throwing the first pitch at a recent Cardinals' vs. Philadelphia Phillies game at Busch Stadium.
The wish was granted as part of a relationship that Make-A-Wish and Kretschmar established in 2012. Kretschmar has donated $105,000 annually to Make-A-Wish and is helping grant three specific wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses, including Zac's, in 2014. To help make Zac's wish day extra special, Kretschmar and Shop 'n Save hosted a promotion to provide additional support for his wish. The store sold hero sandwiches May 26-June 22 named "Zac's Homerun Sub," along with four deli salads. Fifty cents from each sandwich and $1 from each hero/salad combo were donated to Make-A-Wish Missouri, which rallied the community to provide enough support to enhance Zac's wish with a party bus to take his family to the game and Cardinals jerseys to wear at the stadium.
"Wishes give hope, strength and joy to children when they need it the most," said LuAnn Bott, president/CEO of Make-A-Wish Missouri. "Zac's wish to throw out the first pitch at the Cardinals game is a priceless experience and one to remember for a lifetime. We're thankful for our national alliance with Kretschmar, which not only makes wishes come true across the country, but especially here in the St. Louis area."
"Everyone at Kretschmar is thrilled to help grant Zac's wish," added Mike Sargent, brand manager for Kretschmar, which is part of the John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, Inc. "We're very grateful to Shop 'n Save for partnering with us and all of the hard work they put forth to make this day possible. The local community's response to this wish has been overwhelming. It's been amazing to see them get behind it and support it like they have. Fortunately we raised enough money from the promotion to add some special elements to enhance Zac's wish and support future wishes in the local area. To see his face light up when he put on his jersey on and met the players, it made everyone's effort worthwhile."
Shop 'n Save, a wholly owned subsidiary of Supervalu Inc., has been serving the greater St. Louis, Mo., Springfield, Ill., and Jerseyville, Ill., areas since 1979.