By Shana LiVIGNI

“I would like nothing more than to write large checks to our schools,” declared local Burger King franchise owner and La Crescenta resident Chris Schmutzer. So he devised a plan to do just that. He is the mastermind behind the local BK Points Program.

“This is a program that I came up with about seven or eight years ago and it was really limited.  What I envisioned and what we did included several local elementary schools and it was like a frequent purchase program,” he explained. “We provided the schools with cards and it was called BK Points, so when somebody came in and made a purchase through the school, we entered it into the cash register. Each order equals one point which equals fifty cents back to the school.”

BK Points cards were printed up, at his own expense, and handed out to every elementary and middle school child and teacher at about 16 schools locally. Even if you didn’t have a card with you, just saying the name of the school you are associated with gets the points credited automatically.

After a few years, when the schools didn’t seem so hard up for money and stopped participating, Schmutzer “pulled the plug” on the program. It was startling to see local schools not taking advantage of the rebates that he was offering from the proceeds of his own franchises. These monies come directly from the BK restaurant franchises that this director of operations runs. Since 1981, he’s acquired seven restaurants in the Glendale-Burbank areas.

Schmutzer was raised in Glendale, then moved to La Crescenta where he lives with his wife and three of his four children: Jessica, 6, Steven, 13 and Matthew, 15.

His oldest, 24-year-old Eric, is a CVHS graduate and a Marine and has done three tours of duty in Iraq. Schmutzer is very active and visible in the area, sponsoring CSA and AYSO sports teams. With the economy being so tight, he hopes schools will once again be a part of the BK Points Program to get that extra cash for whatever the elementary or middle school needs. It’s just a monthly check away.

“Because of being in the community, because of having friends and family and neighbors and kids that go to schools in the community, that’s just the right thing to do,” he announced. To get involved, call (323) 257-2232 or visit the website at www.mybkpoints.com.