Cleveland Schools Receive Classroom Learning Tools Through Giant Eagle Apples for the Students

    PITTSBURGH, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Giant Eagle, Inc., the Pittsburgh-
 based supermarket retailer, today announced that the company will launch its
 Apples For The Students program for Cleveland-area public and private schools.
     Apples For The Students is a proprietary program for schools to earn and
 obtain classroom learning tools at no cost.  Participating schools collect
 Giant Eagle register receipts and the dollar value of the receipts are added
 to a savings-type account.  Every reward item has a specific purchase price in
 register tape dollars.  When enough register tape dollars have been saved,
 they can be redeemed for items such as computer equipment, software,
 encyclopedias and other high tech teaching tools for student education.
     Apples For The Students is being offered for the first time in greater
 Cleveland through 53 new Giant Eagle stores that began operating on September
 16th.
     Giant Eagle was the first supermarket chain in the United States to launch
 this program.  Since its inception in 1988, the company has presented schools
 throughout western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia with over
 $15 million worth of support.
     "We're proud to make Apples For The Students available to Cleveland
 schools but this program is not entirely new to Ohio," said Giant Eagle Vice
 Chairman Anthony Rego.  "Schools in Akron, Canton and Youngstown, where Giant
 Eagle has had a presence for years, have been participating.
     "Last year alone, schools in those areas received nearly $340,000 in
 educational awards through Apples For The Students."
     Notre Dame School in Warren, Ohio redeemed enough points to receive awards
 valued at nearly $9,000 last year.
     "We're just thrilled with Apples For The Students," said Mary Pawlikowski,
 program coordinator at Notre Dame.  "We received school items we couldn't ever
 afford on our own.
     "Thanks to Giant Eagle, our school can provide students with a more
 technologically advanced education."
     As a corporation that values education and the work force of the next
 generation, Giant Eagle is committed to each and every community it serves.
     "The beauty of Apples For The Students is that it costs the schools
 absolutely nothing," said Chuck Rini, Giant Eagle Executive Vice President.
 "Because many of the students' family and friends already shop in our stores,
 the schools have an established support base.
     "And the program provides Giant Eagle a perfect opportunity to give back
 to the communities that have long supported our stores."
     The introduction of Apples For The Students comes at a time when
 Cleveland-area schools need a boost.
     "The city's recent economic growth has been very successful," said Rini.
 "But supporting education is one of the ways Gain Eagle can show thanks to our
 customers and help provide our children with the best possible opportunities.
     "They are our future and we truly want to help.  Hopefully, our Apples For
 The Students program will inspire other Cleveland businesses to help local
 schools."
     The Apples For The Students program has proven to be successful because it
 is very easy for schools to administer.  To earn awards, schools encourage
 supporters -- parents, friends, neighbors -- to collect Giant Eagle register
 receipts during the 20 week program period beginning October 11 and concluding
 February 27, 1999.  The receipts are then redeemed for a wide selection of
 educational tools that schools need most like the latest Apple and IBM
 computers and software, audio/visual equipment, sports gear, playground
 equipment and more.
     All schools, public, private and parochial, grades K through 12, are
 invited to participate.
     "Company-wide, Giant Eagle has over 200 stores and the receipts are all
 valid for collection no matter which store issued the receipts," Rego said.
 "So, we encourage the schools collect and redeem as many store receipts as
 possible."
     Additional information and enrollment forms for the Giant Eagle Apples For
 The Students program are available by contacting Tina Thomson, Program
 Coordinator, at Giant Eagle, Inc., 101 Kappa Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15238 or by
 calling toll free at 1-800-74-APPLE.
     Founded in 1931, Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle has grown to be the number
 one supermarket retailer in the region with over 200 corporate and independent
 stores in western Pennsylvania, northeastern Ohio, and West Virginia.  By
 offering modern stores, a wide range of departments and services, and
 involvement in numerous community activities, Giant Eagle strives to "Make
 Life Simple" for the customers it serves.
 
 

SOURCE  Giant Eagle