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During the month of June, Jersey Mike’s stores in the Middle Tennessee Co-op sold their #13 for a great cause. What’s a #13 you ask? It’s Jersey Mike’s signature sub sandwich. An authentic, northeast-style Italian sub prepared Mike’s Way – that is with onions, lettuce, tomatoes, vinegar, oil and spices. For every Giant #13 sold in each of the area’s 21 stores throughout the month, $2.00 was donated to the Michael Stanley Child Life Fund at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University. For every regular sub sold, $1.00 was donated.

In 2005, Michael Stanley's family was given devastating news: their four-year old son had embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, an extremely rare form of cancer which had materialized in his abdomen. After a 13 hour surgery, 48 weeks of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation, Michael is doing well and has been cancer-free for three years.

Michael spent more than 100 days at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt while being treated for his cancer. During his stay, Child Life Specialists worked with Michael and his family to help them feel as comfortable as possible and to help them understand what was happening during Michael's treatment.

A child life specialist focuses on the psychosocial development of children, and encourages effective coping strategies for children and their families under stress. Child life specialists recognize individuality in patients, and use a range of developmentally appropriate activities, including play, preparation for a medical procedure, education, self-expression, and family support to help cope with hospitalization and illness. They are trained to take into account the cognitive, emotional, and physical development of each child in order to encourage optimum development of children facing a challenging experience, particularly one relation to healthcare and hospitalization.

The help and support of Child Life Specialists made a huge impact on the Stanleys while they were at Children's Hospital. Once Michael was out of the hospital, Tony and Cindy Stanley decided to set up a fund in their son's honor that was solely dedicated to helping Child Life Services. The Jersey Mike’s donation of $16,978 will go toward helping to sustain the Child Life Services program at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.

Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, a national sub sandwich franchise with over 400 stores open and under development, has a long history of community involvement and support. Started at the Jersey Shore in 1956, Jersey Mike’s serves authentic Northeast style subs on 14 inch fresh baked bread – the same recipe it started with over 50 years ago. The company’s mission is to bring its customers the highest quality, freshest made sub in the industry and give back to the communities in which they operate. A store locator and franchise information for Jersey Mike’s can be found at jerseymikes.com.