Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson is known for what he does on the field, but through his BijanReads initiative, he’s also working to help Atlanta kids build a love of reading. We saw an opportunity to bring Auntie Anne’s into that mission in a way that could make a tangible difference in our hometown.

With the creation of Knead & Read, we turned reading into something worth celebrating. We created Knead & Read bookmarks, rewarding young readers with Auntie Anne’s pretzels as they hit reading milestones, delivered pretzels to Atlanta Public Schools students in need and funded new reading nooks across APS schools to give kids dedicated spaces to pick up a book.

I helped develop the partnership and activation strategy, connecting sports, literacy and Auntie Anne’s product to create a program that went beyond traditional athlete sponsorship.

The partnership gave BijanReads another way to inspire Atlanta’s next generation of readers while putting Auntie Anne’s community commitment into action—using the simple joy of a pretzel to reward progress and investing in spaces that could support students long after the campaign ended.