Pittsburgh NAACP and Covelli Enterprises have strong alliance

The Pittsburgh NAACP and Covelli Enterprises have developed what Pittsburgh NAACP President Constance Parker called

“an amazing working relationship” based on “trust and admiration.”

The two organizations have been working together for several years to help provide jobs, training and hope to minorities and others in the Pittsburgh area.

For Miss Parker, providing jobs is the single most important task facing her organization and that’s why she said Covelli Enterprises, the nation’s largest franchisee of Panera Breads, has been an ideal partner.

“When there’s no hope. There’s no future. There has to be something to look forward to,” she said. “Covelli has been hiring so many members of our community and then working with them so that these can become careers, not just jobs.”

Miss Parker said representatives of Covelli Enterprises approached her several years ago with a sincere desire to increase its diversity at the many Panera Bread cafes it operates in the Greater Pittsburgh area.

“They’ve done that,” Miss Parker said.

In addition to assisting the community by providing jobs and training, Miss Parker said Covelli Enterprises has also supported the NAACP and other Pittsburgh area organizations with donations.

“But we don’t just take from anyone and have our hands out and get them filled. If we didn’t believe in this company and believe that what they were doing was making a big difference, we wouldn’t be working so closely with them,” she said.
Miss Parker said she is eager for others to know what an impact Covelli Enterprises is making in Pittsburgh.

“I’ve gotten complements on the street for what Covelli has done and how they’re doing it and how it has changed our community and it really has,” she said. “And I want the world to know that you guys are doing a superb job.”