Children’s Friend - Howley Bread Group/Panera Bread employees joined Children’s Friend staff for its annual holiday gift donation on Thursday, December 14. Panera employees and customers in 11 RI/MA cafes collected gifts for more than 30 local families and 100 children served by Children’s Friend.

Panera Bread is doing its part to make the holidays brighter for local families by collecting toys for children and families served by Children’s Friend based in Providence Rhode Island. The toys were collected and delivered by Panera Bread employees and other volunteers on Wednesday, December 14.

Eleven cafés, owned and operated by Howley Bread Group, a franchisee of Panera Bread, participated in the drive, collecting gifts for more than 30 local families and 100 children in need.

For the eighth consecutive year, Panera customers participated in the Holiday Gift Drive simply by going to their local Panera, selecting a gift tag from the display and then purchasing and returning the wish-list gifts chosen. Each gift tag identifies a specific child, his/her age and a list of presents. Participating cafes include Cranston, East Greenwich, Lincoln, Newport, Providence, Smithfield, Wakefield and Warwick, and North Attleborough, Plainville and Seekonk, Massachusetts.