Kum & Go LC, operator of more than 400 convenience stores in 11 Midwestern states, is this year's winner of the Grand Spirit Award for Community Outreach, the convenience industry's community service awards program sponsored by Convenience Store News.

The Spirit Awards for Community Outreach program was launched in 2009 to celebrate convenience retailers that are involved in community service programs aimed at bettering the lives of the people in the markets they serve. Along with Kum & Go, these c-store retailers also were named 2011 Spirit Award winners in their respective chain-size categories:

• For companies with one to 99 stores: Wallis Cos.
• For companies with 100 to 499 stores: Thorntons Inc.
• For companies with 500-plus stores: Kangaroo Express (The Pantry).

Kum & Go proved its commitment many times in the past year, most notably in its response to a devastating tornado that struck Joplin, Mo., on May 22. The CSNews' 2011 Grand Spirit Award winner immediately responded, dispatching a crisis team that was onsite within 12 hours to donate its time and resources. That was followed by a chainwide "HELP JOPLIN" campaign that raised $93,910 from Kum & Go employees and customers in just 10 days. In addition, the retailer's foundation supplied an additional check for a grand total of $115,000 that was sent to the American Red Cross.

Kum & Go is certainly no stranger to the Spirit Awards for Community Outreach. The company was a Spirit Award winner among c-store chains operating 100 to 499 stores last year.

This year's winner in the big chain (500-plus stores) is Kangaroo Express, the store banner operated by The Pantry Inc. The Cary, N.C.-based retailer enjoys philanthropic partnerships with many worthy causes, but Kangaroo Express' commitment to military personnel and their families is unrivaled. The operator of 1,600 convenience stores throughout the Southeast launched its "Salute Our Troops" campaign on Memorial Day with a fundraising goal of $1 million by Labor Day —which was surpassed by July 4th to finish the summer with a total of $2.5 million in donations for military families.

Louisville, Ky.-based Thorntons Inc., the Spirit Award winner in the mid-size (100 to 499 stores) category, was honored for integrating the spirit of giving with company leadership and team member participation. At Thorntons, it all starts at the local level. The retailer encourages its team members to volunteer for organizations and charities and offer their time and talents to community improvement projects and fundraising activities.

One new volunteer program this year for Louisville's Dare to Care food bank saw senior Thorntons leadership and new hires work side by side to sort and pack food products for local families in need. The team's reaction was so strong that it prompted the retailer's Chicago stores to seek out a local food bank where managers spent a day.

The Wallis Cos., based in Cuba, Mo., is this year's winner in the small chain category (one to 99 stores). The 38-store convenience chain not only maintains corporate community service programs, but also encourages all of its customers and associates to support the neighborhoods in which they live and work.

CSNews congratulates all the 2011 Spirit Award winners.

—Don Longo

Kum & Go Helps Joplin Rebuild

Winner: Grand Spirit Award
Kum & Go LC, West Des Moines, Iowa

Some convenience store retailers donate hefty amounts to a plethora of worthwhile causes —an incredibly noble effort. As an added bonus, they collect money from customers to go toward charities. Others spread their generosity even further by utilizing the next best thing at their disposal: their time. Kum & Go LC is a preeminent member of all three groups.

When an EF5 multiple-vortex tornado struck Joplin, Mo., during the afternoon of May 22, Convenience Store News' 2011 Grand Spirit Award winner immediately responded. The convenience store chain dispatched a crisis team that was onsite within 12 hours to donate its time and resources.

More than 400 stores in 11 states subsequently participated in Kum & Go's "HELP JOPLIN" campaign. In the 10 days following the tornado, Kum & Go employees and customers raised $93,910. The company's foundation supplied an additional check, for a grand total of $115,000 that was sent to the American Red Cross.

Kyle J. Krause, Kum & Go's president and CEO, said its efforts showed how much the company cares about the city and its 49,000 residents. "Our associates also had that same caring value and they wanted their own way of being able to give back," he said. "So for them to be able to put money in and ask their customers for money, it was a great combination."

Kum & Go's charitable efforts certainly did not stop with Joplin. During the past year, the West Des Moines, Iowa-based chain supported several charities and community service platforms. Among those efforts were a $15,000 check to the Des Moines, Iowa, affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure; an Angel Tree that provided 60 children with two gifts each during the holidays; a $5,000 contribution to the Red Cross to be used toward Minot, N.D., flood relief efforts; a $10,000 check to the American Red Cross to help Arkansas residents recover from a string of tornadoes that ravaged the state; and participation in Springfield, Mo.'s "Victory Mission" cardboard turkey campaign.

Kum & Go's charitable approach starts at the top. Krause, along with his wife Sharon, are behind many of the efforts. For example, he and his wife serve as co-chairs of the United Way Toqueville Society Campaign. Combined, the couple has served on 20 boards and committees. Sharon Krause spends 10 to 15 hours per week as a volunteer for various causes.

Kum & Go is also no stranger to the Spirit Awards for Community Outreach. The company was a Spirit Award winner among c-store chains operating 100 to 499 stores last year.

—Brian Berk

Kangaroo Express Earns Salute for Breaking Fundraising Goal

Winner: 500-plus stores
Kangaroo Express (The Pantry Inc.), Cary, N.C.

When Kangaroo Express, the c-store brand operated by The Pantry Inc., launched its "Salute Our Troops" campaign this past Memorial Day, it did so with an ambitious goal to raise $1 million by Labor Day. As it turns out, the operator of 1,600 convenience stores throughout the Southeast was not ambitious enough; the company surpassed the $1-million mark by the Fourth of July to finish the summer with a total tally of $2.5 million.

This is just one shining example of why Kangaroo Express was chosen as the winner of the 2011 Spirit Award among companies with 500 or more stores.

"Programs like Salute Our Troops is one way we try to do well —from a business standpoint —while also doing [well]," said former Pantry CEO Terry Marks, who stepped down in October.

Although the Cary, N.C.-based retailer enjoys philanthropic partnerships with many worthy causes, Kangaroo Express' commitment to military personnel and their families is unrivaled. It is a cause near and dear to the company's collective heart, as more than half of its stores are located within 25 miles of a military installation and one-third of its employees have either served or have family members currently serving in the military.

A summary of its 2011 Community Outreach Campaigns give a peek inside Kangaroo Express' dedication to armed forces. As of the end of August, the company raised $157,336 for the American Widow Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to a new generation of spouses who have lost military heroes. In January, Kangaroo Express helped the Indy 500 Centennial Tour connect with U.S. military personnel at military bases in Europe, the Middle East and an aircraft carrier stationed at sea.

In addition, Kangaroo Express held its third annual fundraiser for Victory Junction, a year-round, all-expense-paid camp for children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. In all, the company presented Victory Junction with a $634,000 donation raised through a promotion with partnership support from Coca-Cola. The donation was more than triple the amount the company raised in 2010.

A little closer to home, the c-store chain held the Battle for Bean Street campaign to help local charities. Despite being in-state basketball rivals, Kangaroo Express got the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University and Duke University students to temporarily brush aside those rivalries to support a good cause. At the end of the 2011 basketball season, UNC won $20,000 for its chosen charity; the other two schools won $5,000 for their chosen charities.

With more than $3 million raised through its 2011 Community Outreach Campaigns through the first nine months of this year, one can only wonder what Kangaroo Express' fundraising goal will be next year. n

—Melissa Kress

Store Managers Take the Lead in Volunteering

Winner: 100 to 499 stores
Thorntons Inc., Louisville, Ky.

When it comes to volunteering and community service, some companies put forth a token effort, but Louisville, Ky.-based Thorntons Inc. has taken steps to truly integrate the spirit of giving with company leadership, and therefore into the company itself.

It all starts on a local level, as Thorntons encourages its team members to volunteer for the organizations and charities they feel most passionately about, and they offer their time and talent to community improvement projects and fundraising activities. Past local activities Thorntons employees have supported include Toys for Tots, Race for the Cure, Polar Plunge for Special Olympics, Conquer Cancer Bike Ride and Boy Scouts of America.

In 2010, Thorntons developed two new companywide volunteer programs. For the first, it partnered with Louisville's Dare to Care food bank. As part of Thorntons' core leadership development program, each new store manager now attends a leadership session at the company's Corporate University, where they participate in an educational session conducted by Dare to Care and learn about the need for food in their local markets, the impact malnutrition has on children, and organizations the managers can support when they return to their stores. Participants sort and pack food products for Dare to Care to distribute, as well.

Senior Thorntons leadership and new hires also work side by side to help local families. The team reaction to the program has been so strong that it even prompted the Chicago region to seek out a local food bank where managers spent a day packing 20,568 meals, enough to feed 73 children for a year.

Thorntons' second new project had the company partnering with the American Red Cross and the Commander at Fort Knox to support U.S. troops and their families. A team of 300 Thorntons employees supplied and assembled 100 bicycles for children of soldiers, and supplied and packed 3,500 care packages for troops who were deployed the following January.

A follow-up event during which team members will pack 5,500 care packages and assemble 200 bicycles is scheduled for this month. Thorntons doesn't forget those soldiers once the care packages are shipped, either. After several Fort Knox soldiers were injured following deployment, the company worked with the Red Cross to provide them with personal hygiene items during their treatment.

Along with volunteering team members' time, Thorntons puts its money where its mouth is by donating approximately $350,000 annually to support organizations such as The Community Foundation of Louisville, Prevent Blindness Kentucky, and Operation Brightside. To ensure it makes a long-term difference, Thorntons also makes multi-year commitments of between $100,000 and $150,000 to organizations such as the Louisville Zoo Foundation and Friends of World Hunger.

—Angela Hanson

Community is a Companywide Value at Wallis

Winner: One to 99 stores
Wallis Cos., Cuba, Mo.

For the Wallis Cos. in Cuba, Mo., community service is truly a companywide effort. The 38-store convenience chain not only maintains corporate community service programs, but also encourages all of its customers and associates to support the neighborhoods in which they live and work.

Throughout the year, a team of associates from the corporate office holds various fundraisers (company lunches, Trivia Night, Poker Run, Spring Tea, silent auctions, etc.) for the American Cancer Society. This year, they raised $9,978.88 for the Crawford County Relay for Life event, held in June.

Also annually, a team of associates from both headquarters and the company's c-stores participate in the Fight for Air Climb/Master the Met event, a vertical race to climb 40 floors to the top of the Metropolitan Square Building in downtown St. Louis. Each participant must raise at least $100 for the American Lung Association. Wallis has fielded a team every year since the event began in 2008.

At the store level, Wallis champions various causes through customer fundraising campaigns. During the months of March and April, its c-stores raise money for TouchPoint Autism Services in honor of Autism Awareness Month. In June and July, c-store employees sell raffle tickets in the stores, and associates throughout the company are urged to volunteer to sell raffle tickets during home Cardinal games at Busch Stadium to benefit the Jackie Robinson Foundation and Cardinals Care.

During September and October, store associates sell March of Dimes emblems for $1 or $5 to raise money for babies who are born prematurely or with birth defects. Then, in November and December, $1, $5 and $10 holiday stockings are sold at all its c-stores, plus the company's On the Run locations hold an "Elves on the Run" toy drive —both of which benefit the Boys & Girls Town of Missouri.
So far this year, Wallis has been able to raise $32,490 for TouchPoint Autism Services —$6,411 more than what it raised in 2010 —and $20,000 for the Jackie Robinson Foundation and Cardinals Care. The company's March of Dimes goal this year is $30,000 (it raised $27,287 in 2010).

In addition to these efforts, each department/division within the company is challenged to choose a community project during the last quarter of the year. Among last year's projects:

• The accounting department collected personal hygiene items, sent to soldiers in Afghanistan.
• Organizational services collected food items for the local school's Friday Backpack program, which provides food for the weekends to children of underprivileged families.
• The commissary baked 24 dozen cookies for the Boys & Girls Town holiday celebration.
• The Kansas City lube plant collected items to support Harvesters' "Give a Lunch" program, and packed 150 lunch sacks that were used for the organization's youth programs.
• The Olivette, Mo., store worked together to help a regular customer who had fallen on hard times.

—Linda Lisanti