Every March, all Jersey Mike’s Subs stores nationwide offer customers the chance to donate to a special cause. For the first time, all of its stores this year will donate to the same organization: the Special Olympics.
For Camden County resident and Special Olympics athlete Michele Asher-Coddington, this year’s “day of giving” on March 30 is especially personal. Her love for Jersey Mike’s and her passion for the Olympics coincided on that date, when 100 percent of all revenue in Jersey Mike’s stores nationwide, is donated to the Special Olympics.
“Everyone in my family has some disability one way or another. The Special Olympics is not just for people with severe intellectual disabilities. It’s for anyone that struggles,” said Asher-Coddington, whose husband, Steve Coddington, is also a Special Olympics athlete.
“My involvement with the Special Olympics started with my husband,” she added. “He got me into it. He was involved with it before we met, I’ve been involved with it for six years and he was involved with it for about three years before me.”
Asher-Coddington will be behind the counter at the Sicklerville store Wednesday, ringing up subs and sandwiches on what franchise owner Sheila DiOrio described as the busiest day of the year. Asher-Coddington’s Special Olympics team will also be at the store after its flag football practice Wednesday night.
“Last year, it was by far our busiest day of the year,” said DiOrio, who has owned her store with her husband Jim and stepson Jimmy since 2020. “It was packed. I think it was the highest revenue day we had all year. But, you can go all month and donate. I don’t think people really know that.”
“This is the first time that all Jersey Mike’s nationwide will be donating to the same cause … she added. “We were contacted by Michele to let us know that she comes to our store all the time, and orders a number 13 off the menu, and that she will be a member of the New Jersey Special Olympics team.”
DiOrio’s stepson worked at a Jersey Mike’s in high school and proposed the idea to DiOrio after he began working in the company’s corporate office.
“I saw how much service meant to this company,” DiOrio recalled. “How important giving back was to them … I had not even tasted a Jersey MIke’s sub before. I just loved the philosophy of this corporation.”
Jersey Mike’s accepts donations for all of March; they will go to the Special Olympics games, taking place June 5 through June 12. Funds will cover hotels, meals, flights, and activities for athletes and their families.
