Buffalo Wild Wings Supports Team Sports for 28,000 Boys & Girls Club Kids Through 2014 ALL STARS Grants, Announces $225,000 in New Team Up for Kids Grants to Improve Club Sports Facilities

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

With the kickoff of fall ALL STARS team sports programs at Boys & Girls Clubs across the country, Buffalo Wild Wings® announced that it will more than double the impact of its Team Up for Kids® initiative over 2013, giving 28,000 kids the opportunity to belong to a team through 285 ALL STARS grants. As part of its partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), Buffalo Wild Wings provides Clubs with ALL STARS grants to add or improve flag and tackle football teams and cheer programs. The grants include funding, team jerseys, a recognition program and access to coach training and resources through the National Alliance of Youth Sports (NAYS), a non-profit organization with a widely-used training program focused on creating positive and safe team sports experiences.

New this year, Buffalo Wild Wings is stepping up the program by awarding $25,000 Team Up for Kids® grants to nine Clubs across the country to support special projects such as sport field and other facility renovations to improve sports programming.

Today, Buffalo Wild Wings kicks off its 2014 fundraising promotion that encourages Guests to help create team sports opportunities for kids at Boys & Girls Clubs in hundreds of local communities. As part of the Team Up for Kids initiative, the company will donate 100 percent of every paper pinup Guests purchase in-restaurant from Oct. 1-31 to support BGCA youth sports programs. The paper pinups can be purchased for a $1 minimum donation and will be displayed in restaurants. Guests can also donate at www.buffalowildwings.com/giving.

“We are excited to expand our Team Up for Kids initiative in 2014 with our new Team Up for Kids grants to help Clubs enhance their sports facilities. We are more than doubling the number of ALL STARS grants, helping us achieve our goal of giving more than 72,000 kids the chance to belong to a team by 2016,” said Mary Twinem, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Buffalo Wild Wings. “Playing sports in a team setting helps build character and teaches valuable life lessons to kids, while helping them stay engaged with their Clubs. And when Guests visit Buffalo Wild Wings in October, they can join our efforts to reach as many kids as possible in communities across the country.”

Together with Guests, in 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings helped 12,000 kids play team sports and donated more than $1.5 million, including proceeds from the sales of sauce and seasoning bottles sold in restaurants and last year's pinup campaign. In 2014, Buffalo Wild Wings will donate and raise at least $1 million, and it has committed to donating over $4 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America by 2016.

“Through our ongoing partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings, we've been able to help Clubs and their staff add or improve team sports programs that benefit our youth with skills they'll use for a lifetime,” said Wayne B. Moss, senior director of Healthy Lifestyles, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “The ALL STARS programs are an important part of our Great Futures campaign, which will help local Clubs to serve more members, more often, and provides positive role models, next-generation curriculum and great sports programming for youth during out-of-school hours.”

Buffalo Wild Wings' commitment to helping make communities a better place to live, work and grow has always been a part of its culture. Since the first restaurants opened, the company has supported local community and school sports teams. Over the years, Buffalo Wild Wings, its franchisees and Guests have given millions of dollars to local teams, community and school organizations, and to support those in need.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,100 Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http://www.bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.

About Buffalo Wild Wings and Team Up for Kids

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. BWLD, founded in 1982 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a growing owner, operator and franchisor of Buffalo Wild Wings® restaurants featuring a variety of boldly flavored, made-to-order menu items including its namesake Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings. Guests enjoy a welcoming neighborhood atmosphere that includes an extensive multi-media system for watching their favorite sporting events. There are currently more than 1,040 Buffalo Wild Wings locations in the United States, as well as in Canada and Mexico.

Buffalo Wild Wings' charitable giving initiative – TEAM UP FOR KIDS® – centers on the vision: There is a champion in every child. We are committed to helping build communities where all kids can thrive, compete, and belong to a team. As part of this initiative, Buffalo Wild Wings has teamed up with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) to help thousands of kids play on sports teams each year. Buffalo Wild Wings is committed to donating over $4 million for BGCA by 2016. Guests can join the effort through donations from sauce and seasoning bottle purchases and in-restaurant fundraising events. For more information, visit www.buffalowildwings.com/giving.

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