Maitland, Fl– Ron Shaich, the C.E.O of Panera Bread, flew to Orlando on Friday, January 16, 2004 to donate $20,000 to New Hope for Kids. Panera Bread encourages local stores to participate in “Operation Dough-Nation.” The program ensures that purchases made in Panera Bread feed back into the community. Cash donations made in the bakery-cafes are matched with freshly baked bread or cash given to local non-profit organizations. According to Dave Joswick, Director of New Hope for Kids, “We are overwhelmed by the generosity shown by Annette and Gavin Ford, owners of Panera Bread in Central Florida. They have supported our mission for a number of years. Annette is a board member and has promoted the New Hope for Kids programs in the community. A couple of examples of Panera’s support is being a Celebrity Mascot Games sponsor, granting wishes to children with a life-threatening illness and placing gift trees annually in all Panera stores at Christmas time. Panera is a wonderful asset to the community.”