Local Police 'Ticket' Good Kids with Free Slurpee® Coupons

DALLAS, June 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- School's out for summer and has been for awhile, although the season officially starts this week. That means youngsters have the freedom to spend their days at neighborhoods, parks, shopping centers and everywhere else kids hang out.

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To foster friendly relationships with local law enforcement and encourage good behavior, 7-Eleven, Inc. is giving 1 million "FREE Slurpee®" coupons to police officers who catch kids doing something good. Operation Chill, as the popular community program is called, has been a summer mainstay of 7-Eleven® stores since 1975.

Uniformed police officers can be intimidating to many children and teens. Rewarding "good behavior" with a cool treat helps build positive relationships between local law enforcement agencies and young people.

Through Operation Chill, law enforcement officers from participating local police and sheriff's departments can "ticket" youngsters with the free beverage coupons who are "caught" in random acts of kindness, good deeds or positive community activities. Appropriate "offenses" might include helping another person, wearing a bicycle helmet while riding or skateboarding, deterring crime or participating in a police athletic league. Each coupon can be redeemed for a small Slurpee drink at participating 7-Eleven stores.  

"Operation Chill coupons are one of the most effective ways to reward many of our young people," said Office Rob E. Wood of the Bellevue Police Department in Washington state.  "We have found that one of the best ways to build good police-citizen relationships in Bellevue is to give these coupons to our police bike team. They go into places like parks, malls and multi-family areas to give out the Slurpee coupons. This is an excellent program and shows 7-Eleven's community-minded support in a very tangible way."

Since the program's inception in 1995, more than 10 million Operation Chill coupons have been distributed to hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the country in areas where 7-Eleven operates stores. During the upcoming summer months and back-to-school season, 1 million Slurpee coupons will be distributed to kids in more than 300 cities, towns and counties.

Operation Chill was developed by 7-Eleven to positively reward and encourage good behavior by kids during the hot summer months when communities may experience increases in loitering, shoplifting and graffiti. The coupons also can be used to support law enforcement agencies' community relations projects.  

"Operation Chill has always been one of our most popular community projects," said Mark Stinde, 7-Eleven's senior asset protection director. "Kids love it because they love Slurpee drinks.  Police officers love it because it gives them a reason to approach youngsters in a non-authoritative role and build positive relationships."  

According to Stinde, police departments begin contacting 7-Eleven earlier each year to sign up for the annual program. Already participating in this year's program are law enforcement agencies from the greater Los Angeles, San Diego, Orlando, Tampa, Dallas, Denver and Las Vegas areas.    

7-Eleven's proprietary Slurpee semi-frozen carbonated beverage has generational appeal with slurpers both young and old. More than a half-million Slurpee drinks are purchased each day during the summer at 7-Eleven stores across the country.  

About 7-Eleven, Inc.

7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience retailing industry. Based in Dallas, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 8,400 7-Eleven® stores in North America. Globally, there are approximately 40,900 7-Eleven stores in 16 countries. During 2010, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales close to $63 billion. 7-Eleven has been honored by a number of companies and organizations recently. Accolades include: #2 on Forbes magazine's 2011 list of Top Franchises for the Money; #4 spot on Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500 list for 2009 and #3 in Forbes magazine's Top 20 Franchises to Start. Hispanic Magazine named 7-Eleven in its Hispanic Corporate Top 100 Companies that provide the most opportunities to Hispanics. 7-Eleven received the 2010 Retailer of the Year from PL (Private Label) Buyer because of the company's private-label brand initiative. The company is franchising its stores in the U.S., and is expanding through organic growth, acquisitions and its Business Conversion Program. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com.

SOURCE 7-Eleven, Inc.