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METAIRIE, LA – You worked hard to catch all those beads, now trade them in for a dozen delicious Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!

Krispy Kreme is offering one dozen free original glazed doughnuts to guests who bring in 12 pounds or more of Mardi Gras beads to the Krispy Kreme shop on Clearview Pkwy.

Beads must be dropped off between 7 A.M. and 10 P.M. on either Monday, March 25 or Tuesday, March 26.

Guests who don’t want to walk out with donuts can opt for a coupon instead.

The coupon must be redeemed by Saturday, April 27.

The “Beads-for-Doughnuts” campaign has become an extremely popular post-parade tradition.

Tens of thousands of pounds of beads have been recycled through the program.

Once collected, the beads go from Krispy Kreme to Arc of Greater New Orleans (ArcGNO), an area non-profit that supports and employs people with Down syndrome, autism and other intellectual disabilities.

“One of our largest social enterprises is our Mardi Gras Recycle Center,” explains ArcGNO’s Executive Director, Dr. Stephen Sauer, who notes that all donated beads go to the recycling center where they are sorted, repackaged, and sold to float riders. He adds, “Because of community partners like Krispy Kreme, we can employ and pay salaries to those with disabilities. Partnerships like these provide us the opportunity to collect a huge portion of products needed for us to operate year-round.  We could not do it without the generosity of everyone in the community.”