Dunkin' Donuts Franchisee Partners With College for America at Southern New Hampshire University to Offer Free College Education to Select Employees

FALMOUTH, Maine, March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Dunkin' Donuts franchise network The Wolak Group, which operates over 85 Dunkin' Donuts stores in Maine, New Hampshire and New York, today announced a program with nonprofit College for America at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) that will offer 25 Wolak Group employees the opportunity to receive a fully-paid online college education and earn an accredited associate degree. If successful, this program offering may expand to all eligible employees in The Wolak Group network.

"The success of our Dunkin' Donuts restaurants is a direct result of the dedication of our employees; that's why we are investing in them through this program," said Dunkin' Donuts franchisee and Founder of The Wolak Group, Ed Wolak. "We are thrilled to offer this benefit to our employees and believe that it will help us hire and retain good people. I am hopeful that if this program proves to be beneficial for our employees and our business, we can expand it to all 1,600 employees in The Wolak Group network, and that other Dunkin' Donuts franchisees will consider offering a similar benefit to their employees, either in conjunction with SNHU or another university catering to the needs of working adults."

College for America at SNHU is a nonprofit school that offers working adults the opportunity to earn an fully-accredited associate of the arts degree in General Studies with a concentration in Business, through a competency-based curriculum built around applicable student projects and real-world job skills. Through this program, beginning in Spring 2014, the select Wolak Group employees will pursue a college degree through an online learning model.

"We are proud to partner with The Wolak Group to offer a fully-funded college education to local Dunkin' Donuts Franchisee employees," said Paul LeBlanc, President of Southern New Hampshire University. "We look forward to working together to bring this program to life and to continuing our commitment of offering a college degree program designed for working adults."

To learn more about Dunkin' Donuts, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/DunkinDonuts) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/DunkinDonuts).

To learn more about College for America at Southern New Hampshire University, visit http://collegeforamerica.org/.

About Dunkin' Donuts
Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is America's favorite all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' Donuts is a market leader in the hot regular/decaf/flavored coffee, iced coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories. Dunkin' Donuts has earned the No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for eight years running. The company has nearly 11,000 restaurants in 33 countries worldwide. Based in Canton, Mass., Dunkin' Donuts is part of the Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) family of companies. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.

About College for America at Southern New Hampshire University
Driven by its nonprofit mission to radically expand access and improve the quality of higher education, College for America at Southern New Hampshire University partners with companies and nonprofits nationwide to offer their employees a rigorous, competency-based college degree built on applicable projects and real-world learning instead of lectures and credit hours.  The school was the first such competency-based institution approved for financial aid by the federal government, and has been widely cited as a leader and innovator in making higher education more accessible for working adults. For more information, visit www.collegeforamerica.org

About The Wolak Group
Founded in 1975 by Ed Wolak, The Wolak Group is an independent franchisee network that owns and operates over 85 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in Maine, New Hampshire and New York. For more information, visit www.wolakgroup.com.

SOURCE The Wolak Group