White Castle announced a monthlong program to thank its own team members who opt for the vaccine: $100,000 in cash prizes. The family-owned business has been an ardent supporter of essential workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, giving free meals to healthcare workers, making food deliveries to grocery and food retail workers, and offering discounts to school employees.
White Castle employees who show proof of vaccination can win one of 200 $500 cash prizes.
The giveaway, internally referred to as “VAX-a-Thousands,” invites any of White Castle’s 10,000 team members to submit proof of at least one COVID-19 vaccine to be automatically entered to win $500, one of 200 such cash payments being awarded during the month of September.
“We are encouraged by our team’s immediate response to the available vaccines this year,” said Jamie Richardson, a vice president at White Castle. “Our VAX-a-Thousands giveaway is a meaningful way to thank our essential team members and inspire others to get vaccinated.”
The $100,000 prize total is a nod to the Slider pioneer’s 100th birthday being celebrated throughout 2021. For four weeks starting the week of Sept. 6, White Castle is randomly selecting 50 winners each week among those eligible to receive $500. Team members in more senior positions will be excluded from eligibility to focus the benefit primarily on front-line workers.
“The safety of our team members, their families and the communities we serve has been a top priority since we started satisfying cravings in 1921,” Richardson said. “Today more than ever as we power through the pandemic, we want to be here in ways that matter for our team members.”
The team member giveaway is the latest in a series of campaigns from White Castle to support people during the pandemic. This past April, customers who showed proof of a vaccine were given their choice of free desserts-on-a-stick. In spring 2020, White Castle gave away $1 million worth of free combo meals to EMTs, paramedics, nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals. Throughout the summer of 2020, White Castle delivered more than 15,000 free Sliders to hospital, grocery store and retail food workers. The company also provided a 20% discount to grocery store and retail food workers, first responders, healthcare workers and to all school employees.