Community Service Spotlight

NATIONAL REPORT -- Giving back through community service efforts and charity donations is a positive force that keeps many retailers and suppliers of this industry moving ahead. On a regular basis, Convenience Store News will highlight these philanthropic efforts in this special section. Here are the latest company spotlights:

CITGO Petroleum Corporation
CITGO Petroleum Corporation and its Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery will invest up to $1.5 million in the Hillcrest Community to support local non-profit organizations that provide crucial services to the neighborhood.

CITGO will launch a qualitative field study of social issues in the community, led by an independent organization. This data, combined with other research and surveys that have been conducted among Hillcrest residents since 2004, will help to identify areas to address, to help make Hillcrest a more vibrant community. The information yielded from this field study will help to prioritize the programs that receive funding.

The application process is expected to open in early June 2012. A seven-member advisory committee consisting of community leaders will assist in reviewing the applications and determining which programs will be funded for the upcoming year.

Gulf Oil LP
Gulf Oil LP is bringing its visible support for breast cancer research and awareness to a new level in May by adding a pink ribbon to its iconic orange disk logo in six Major League Baseball parks across the country. The move highlight's Gulf's continued support of the fight to end breast cancer, and reinforces the Gulf Oil Giving Foundation's ongoing efforts to make a difference in the lives of millions of people. Beginning in May, the Gulf logo will be wrapped with a pink ribbon and on proud display for millions of fans at the Atlanta Braves' Turner Field, Baltimore Orioles' Camden Yards, Boston Red Sox's Fenway Park, Philadelphia Phillies' Citizens Bank Park, St. Louis Cardinals' Busch Stadium and Texas Rangers' Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Additionally, Gulf announced that it will be donating 400 tickets to Red Sox home games in the month of May to the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign and to its Hope Lodge Center in the Jamaica plain neighborhood of Boston, a state-of-the-art facility that serves as a "home away from home" for patients and their caregivers traveling more than 40 miles to outpatient treatments.

Thorntons Inc.
For the 5th consecutive year, Thorntons has partnered with the Make- A-Wish Foundation of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Since May 1st, all Thorntons store locations have been selling Wish Stars for $1, with 100 percent of the proceeds going back to the foundation.

Since beginning the partnership in 2008, Thorntons has raised over $50,000 for the foundation.

Casey's General Stores Inc.
During the month of May in honor of Memorial Day, Casey's General Stores is offering a special promotion on popular items with a portion of the proceeds to benefit Hope For The Warriors, a national nonprofit organization that assists combat-wounded service members, their families, and families of the fallen.

Throughout the month of May, for every large specialty pizza purchased, Casey's will donate $1 to Hope For The Warriors. The goal is to raise both funds and awareness for Hope For The Warriors and to help the growing needs of military families.

TravelCenters of America
TravelCenters of America presented a BP Fueling Communities grant donation of $30,000 to The St. Christopher Truckers Development & Relief Fund (SCF), a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to professional truck drivers whose medical problems have led to financial hardship. SCF provides financial support to professional drivers to put toward prescription medications, living expenses, and medical procedures.

TravelCenters, a BP Branded Marketer, nominated SCF to receive the grant for the second consecutive year.

TA and Petro customers and employees also have contributed $4,700 in additional donations. Professional drivers contributed nearly $2,000 at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., in March. TA dedicated a large section of its show booth to SCF. Employees of TravelCenters gave another $2,700 in donations through a variety of company events.

Cumberland Farms
During the month of May, Cumberland Farms will be raising funds to benefit Children's Hospital Boston through the convenience store retailer's Pediatric Care Campaign.

Participating Cumberland Farms stores in Massachusetts and Rhode Island will donate five cents per cup from its iced coffee sales to benefit one of the largest pediatric medical centers in the United States and home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric hospital.

The Cumberland Farms Pediatric Care Campaign kicked off in February in Vermont and New Hampshire to benefit Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock and then moved to Maine to benefit The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in March. The fundraising program will continue across most of Cumberland Farms' service area through July. The campaign has raised nearly $34,000 thus far.

Also in May, Cumberland Farms began a four-week fundraiser to benefit the Canterbury Athletic Association.

For every Chill Zone beverage, iced tea and cold or hot coffee purchased at its newly remodeled store at 2 Knollwood Drive in Canterbury, Conn. the retail chain will donate 20 cents toward recreation programs and updated dugouts at the Manship Park senior league field.

Cumberland Farms said in a press release that it hopes to raise $1,000 for the association.

Stripes Convenience Stores
Stripes Convenience Stores completed its five-year goal of raising $1 million, one year early, for Driscoll Children's Hospital in South Texas.

The money will go to support the Stripes Child Life Program at Driscoll. It's a program that focuses on the emotional and psychological care of the young patients at the hospital.

Sam Susser, the President and CEO of Stripes, says he credits his 8,000 employees for supporting and carrying out the fundraising effort.

Circle K Florida
Circle K Florida, the largest corporate supporter of United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), presented UCP affiliates with an oversized check for $552,837.73 during an awards dinner and ceremony at the company's FishStix 2012, an annual golf and fishing tournament held in Fort Myers, Florida. The amount represents the proceeds that were raised from last year's FishStix event and funds raised through canister donations and other in-store promotions from June 2011 through March 2012.

UCP shared a special video highlighting UCP clients from six UCP Florida affiliates that were featured in UCP and Circle K's "Adopt a Child/Adopt a Life" campaign this year. The campaign celebrates and promotes the tremendous difference that Circle K has made in communities across Florida by featuring the story and photo of a UCP client on each coin collection canister that lives in the region that that particular store serves. The campaign helps emphasize that Circle K customers who donate at the register are supporting those in their immediate community.