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 highlights these philanthropic efforts in this special section.

Here are the latest company spotlights:

CEFCO Convenience Stores
CEFCO Convenience Stores and its parent company Fikes Wholesale Inc. are donating $450,000 to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and $200,000 to McLane Children’s Hospital Scott & White, raised partly through its 12th Annual “Hackers-R-Us” Charity Golf Tournament, held earlier this month.

Fikes Wholesale also continues to support seven individual C.E. Fikes Endowed Scholarships that commemorate CEFCO’s founder, Clarence Edison Fikes.

In 1999, CEFCO began its partnership with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, with $700 raised in stores. CEFCO's 2013 fundraising total marks some exciting milestones for the organization. To date, CEFCO has raised nearly $2.4 million, with $1.845 million donated to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and $550,000 going toward the various C.E. Fikes Endowed Scholarships and McLane Children’s Hospital Scott & White.

CST Brands Inc.
CST Brands Inc.’s U.S. Corner Store team members and customers raised more than $2.3 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (MDA) Shamrocks program. Corner Store customers purchased $1 and $5 Shamrocks, which were prominently displayed on the walls and ceilings in each store.

In 2012, Corner Store raised $2.1 million through the Shamrocks campaign. The company has been associated with the MDA for more than 25 years and raised more than $22 million for the charity during that time.

ExxonMobil Corp.
ExxonMobil Corp. and its employees donated more than $2 million to the Texas A&M Foundation.

Each donor got to choose which college, department or program the money went to at the College Station, Texas, campus. Irving, Texas-based ExxonMobil took each donation and triple matched it. Hence, for every dollar donated by an individual, the company gave $3. The match was capped at $7,500 per individual donation.

In total, the ExxonMobil Foundation contributed $2.08 million to the university’s foundation.

Ed Davis, president of the Texas A&M foundation, said the three-to-one match makes Exxon’s contribution one of the most generous in corporate America.

The ExxonMobil Foundation gave more than $40 million to 871 educational institutions in 2012. Of that, $11.9 million came from individuals and $28.3 million came in matching contributions from the foundation.

Global Partners LP
In just three weeks, customers and cashiers at Global Partners LP’s Alltown convenience stores, Mr. Mike’s convenience stores and Fast Freddie’s convenience stores raised $71,349 for Boston Children’s Hospital, thanks to the generosity of store patrons who each donated $1 at checkout.

The money raised will be used to help support The Children’s Fund.

Kangaroo Express
A fundraiser was held in March and April at 700 Kangaroo Express convenience stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, as well as more than 100 restaurants at Kangaroo Express stores, raising $1.015 million for Victory Junction.

Victory Junction was founded in 2004 by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their late son Adam. The camp relies solely on donations from individuals and corporations like The Pantry Inc.'s Kangaroo Express to give children a once-in-a-lifetime camping experience. It costs $2,500 to send one child to camp for a week at no cost to his or her family.

Sheetz Inc.
Steve and Nancy Sheetz made a leadership gift commitment to Penn State Altoona to create a Trustee Scholarship and scholarship endowment in support of the Sheetz Fellows program. The commitment was the couple’s second to the campus during "For the Future: The Campaign For Penn State Students."

Each year, in perpetuity, nearly 120 recipients of the Steve and Nancy Sheetz Trustee Scholarship will be awarded a minimum of $1,250 based on financial need.

The second endowment, in support of the Sheetz Fellows program established by the couple in 2010, will generate funds enabling Penn State Altoona to provide $5,000 to each Sheetz Fellow in his or her senior year.

Steve Sheetz is chairman of the board of Sheetz Inc., a 1969 Penn State graduate and a former Penn State Altoona student.

Wawa Inc.
Management and employees of Wawa presented The Food Bank of South Jersey (FBSJ) with a Check Out Hunger check for $77,449. Check Out Hunger donations were offered at Wawa store checkouts in $1, $3 and $5 increments.

The funds collected are immediately reinvested back into the community to support local food banks. Wawa’s donation will provide more than a quarter of a million meals for the children, families and seniors at risk of hunger in southern New Jersey.

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