---
title: "Chili's Kicks off Colorful Return of Create-A-Pepper Program with All Proceeds Benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/38bbd2bd-eff7-4ae5-9e40-45fef9906045
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/news/20250902_chilis_kicks_off_colorful_return_of_createapepper_program_with_all_proceeds.html
category: "Casual dining"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Casual dining"
published: 2025-09-02T12:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T17:14:55.646Z
image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1568901346375-23c9450c58cd?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop
---

# Chili's Kicks off Colorful Return of Create-A-Pepper Program with All Proceeds Benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®

**TL;DR:** Chili's Grill & Bar has launched its annual Create-A-Pepper program, where guests can buy a coloring sheet for a donation to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The program has raised over $120 million for St. Jude over the past 23 years.

*originally published in Franchising.com on 2025-09-02. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/news/20250902_chilis_kicks_off_colorful_return_of_createapepper_program_with_all_proceeds.html).*

## Story

"Making everyone feel special is at the heart of what it means to work at Chili's, and one of the most impactful ways we do that is through our partnership with St. Jude," said Chili's Chief Marketing Officer George Felix. "Over the past 23 years, our guests and team members have donated more than $120 million to support St. Jude patients and their families. I can't wait to see this year's Create-A-Pepper designs on the walls at Chili's locations across the country this month."

Through the end of September, guests can visit their local Chili's to buy a Create-A-Pepper coloring sheet for a $1, $5, $10 or $25 donation. Every dollar goes straight to St. Jude, advancing research and ensuring that no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food. The completed works of art will then adorn Chili's walls for everyone to see, inspiring other Chili's guests to create their own.

"We are immensely grateful to Chili's for 23 years of unwavering fundraising and support, which have helped make hope possible for families of St. Jude," said Samantha Maltin, Chief Marketing and Brand Officer of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

"Art is more than a creative outlet— it lines our halls with inspiration, as we use patient artwork during therapy to transform moments of uncertainty into expressions of beauty and strength. Every donation from the Chili's Create-A-Pepper program supports lifesaving, innovative research and treatment by St. Jude as it works to improve childhood cancer survival rates both here and around the world."

Since 2002, Chili's has proudly supported the lifesaving work of St. Jude and has remained dedicated to its mission: Finding Cures. Saving Children.® The Create-A-Pepper program began when Memphis-area Chili's team members started the first version of the campaign as a unique way to give back to their community, which is also the hometown of St. Jude. Since then, Chili's has led countless fundraising initiatives to help accelerate research and treatment by St. Jude.

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- QSR (sector)
- Chili's (company)
- charity initiative (topic)
- George Felix (person)
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (company)
- qsr fundraising (topic)
- childhood cancer awareness (topic)
- ALSAC (company)
- Samantha Maltin (person)

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Originally reported by Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/news/20250902_chilis_kicks_off_colorful_return_of_createapepper_program_with_all_proceeds.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/38bbd2bd-eff7-4ae5-9e40-45fef9906045).