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:

Casey’s General Stores Inc.

Casey’s General Stores presented a donation of more than $390,000 to Hope For The Warriors, a national nonprofit organization that assists post-9/11 service members, their families, and families of the fallen who have sustained physical and psychological wounds in the line of duty.

The donation is the result of a promotion held throughout the month of May in conjunction with Memorial Day. During the month, Casey’s donated $1 to Hope For The Warriors for every taco pizza sold. Through this promotion, the company aimed to raise both funds and awareness for Hope For The Warriors and to help the growing needs of military families.

Vendor partners, General Mills Inc., Mars Chocolate North America, MillerCoors LLC, Anheuser-Busch, Pabst Brewing Co., in addition to others, also donated to the nonprofit through sales promotions at Casey’s locations.

Kangaroo Express

From June 26 through Sept. 3, Kangaroo Express, the primary operating banner of The Pantry Inc., is again inviting store guests to make donations to its third annual Salute Our Troops campaign and encouraging communities to send special messages of praise and gratitude to the military.

Since its inaugural year in 2011, the Salute Our Troops campaign has raised $5.7 million, breaking fundraising records for many beneficiary organizations, including two of the most accomplished grassroots campaigns the USO has been involved in during its more than 70-year history.

Donations raised during the 2012 Salute Our Troops campaign continue to support the military and their families. The donations are helping to operate 17 USO centers in seven states and drive USO programs that support healing heroes, families of the fallen, America's troops, and military families.

Emergency grant programs run by state-based military support organizations have distributed grants for military families that support a wide range of needs including car payments and medical bills.

PepsiCo Inc. is the leading corporate contributor to Kangaroo Express' fundraising goal for the third consecutive year. Additional Salute Our Troops sponsor partners include McLane Co. Inc. and Rockstar Energy Drink.

Kum & Go LC

Kum & Go is joining the American Red Cross to support ongoing disaster relief efforts in Colorado. The convenience retailer is making a $10,000 donation and harnessing its network of 50 stores in Colorado to help the people and communities affected by the recent wildfires.

Kum & Go’s in-store campaign gives its customers the option of adding $1 to each purchase they make at a Kum & Go store. The Red Cross will receive 100 percent of the donations. The campaign will run through Sunday, July 7.

Kwik Chek Food Stores

North Texas schools in Fannin County were recently presented $500 grants from Kwik Chek Food Stores/McCraw Oil Co. through the 2012 ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Program.

The ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Program is designed to provide Exxon and Mobil retailers with an opportunity to invest in the future of their communities through educational alliance grants to neighborhood schools.

ExxonMobil believes that as members of the community, its local retailers are the best qualified to work with local educators to help identify schools and programs most in need of support. ExxonMobil encourages the schools to use the grants for math and/or science.

Phillips 66

Phillips 66 is once again partnering with Olympic swimmer Cullen Jones. Jones will represent the company at the annual USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash Tour with Cullen Jones, presented by Phillips 66.

Phillips 66 and Jones also released a new television commercial, spotlighting their efforts to raise awareness about drowning prevention.

Jones is a two-time Olympian with four career Olympic medals, including two gold medals. In 2006, he became the first African-American male to hold a world record in swimming and two years later, he became the second African-American male to make a U.S. Olympic swim team.

At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Jones won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay in world record time. In 2009, he set the American record in the 50-meter freestyle at the Phillips 66 National Championships. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Jones added to his career medal count with three more, including a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle.

The USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash Tour with Cullen Jones, presented by Phillips 66, is designed to raise awareness about water safety and the importance of learning how to swim. Nearly 70 percent of African-Americans, 60 percent of Latinos and 42 percent of Caucasians in the United States cannot swim.

As of May, the Make a Splash initiative, which began in 2007, has granted $2.9 million to provide free or reduced-cost swimming lessons to children who may not otherwise have the chance to swim. To date, more than 1.8 million kids have received the life-saving gift of swim lessons through the Make a Splash Local Partner network.

Speedway LLC

After a record-breaking fundraising year in 2012, Speedway LLC is attempting to hit another milestone — the first-ever Million Dollar Miracle Tournament for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals), a charity that raises funds for 170 children’s hospitals across North America.

Held at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio, the 22nd annual vendor golf outing will benefit 16 member hospitals in Midwest communities served by Speedway. Sixteen Miracle Children were selected to attend the golf outing as a representative of each of the hospitals supported by Speedway.

As a corporate partner of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals since 1991, Speedway has raised more than $53 million for the charity through canister campaigns, grassroots fundraising activities, employee payroll deduction programs and the annual corporate golf tournament.

Last year’s golf tournament raised $700,000, contributing to Speedway’s $6.4 million total contribution in 2012. Speedway leads the convenience store industry in Children's Miracle Network Hospitals charitable giving, and ranks fourth among all CMN Hospitals corporate partners, according to the retailer.

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