Don't be surprised if you see people trying to get the beads out of the trees on Government Street... because you can trade those beads for free doughnuts at Krispy Kreme!
The annual Beads For Doughnuts program is set for Monday March 18th and Tuesday March 19th at the Mobile Krispy Kreme (741 Hillcrest Road) between 7am and 10pm both days.
12 pounds of beads = a coupon for 1 dozen doughnuts
Thousands of pounds of beads are traded in every year. So what happens to them?
Krispy Kreme donates the beads to Augusta Evans Special School, which serves students with special needs. Students will sort and re-bundled the beads, to help develop their mental and physical capabilities, as well as their self-sufficiency. The school then sells them to Mobile-area Mardi Gras societies to use for next year's parades.
According to the Mobile County Public School System, this program raises money for technology and curriculum upgrades and to fund the school’s token economy system, which rewards students for meeting goals.
This is a big fundraiser for Augusta Evans. Two years ago, those beads added up to $109,000!
(Photo credit: Krispy Kreme)
(Photo credit: Mobile Mask)