Chipotle said on April 29 it will give 200,000 teachers and health care professionals a shot at free burrito e-cards, part of a burst of restaurant promotions tied to National Nurses Week and related appreciation events that begin Tuesday and run through May 12. The chain said the giveaway is worth more than $2 million in free food, with winners starting to hear on May 13 after a verification process that runs through ID.Me.
Teachers and health care professionals can enter from April 29 through May 12 on their respective microsites. At the end of Teacher Appreciation Week and National Nurse Appreciation Week, 100,000 teachers and 100,000 health care workers will be randomly selected to receive an email to verify their employment status within 48 hours; those who complete the check will get a free entrée e-gift card. Stephanie Perdue, who is quoted in the company's announcement, said Chipotle is committed to showing up for the communities it serves and that recognizing teachers and health care workers is one way to give back meaningfully.
The Chipotle offer lands alongside a cluster of shorter-lived food deals. From May 4 to May 10, nurses can get 20% off dine-in orders at Buffalo Wild Wings with a valid hospital ID. MOD Pizza is offering teachers and nurses a buy-one-get-one-free pizza deal from May 4 to May 7 at participating locations, but only in-store and with a valid teacher or nurse ID. Potbelly is offering a complimentary cookie or regular-sized fountain drink with any entrée purchase for teachers and nurses from May 4 through May 12.
The timing matters because National Nurses Week runs every year from May 6 to May 12, a schedule the American Nurses Association says is permanent and meant to make planning easier. The association says the observance is meant to recognize the invaluable contributions nurses make in health care and in daily life while also addressing the real-life challenges they face, and it says the fixed dates help position the week as an established recognition event. That history goes back to 1982, when President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation designating May 6 as National Recognition Day for Nurses.
The spread of promotions also shows how employers are broadening the audience beyond nurses alone. Chipotle’s giveaway includes teachers and health care professionals, not nurses by themselves, while the other offers split along different lines, from hospital IDs to school and nurse IDs. That leaves a simple test for readers: whether the people these deals are designed to honor can actually use them before the calendar runs out.
