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:

Circle K
Through its FishStix annual golf/fishing tournament event, Circle K's Florida region presented a check for $332,000 to United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) this month. Coupled with funds raised through canister donations throughout the year, Circle K's total contribution to UCP totals more than $1 million in 2011.

"At its heart, Circle K is a group of committed individuals who care deeply for the communities where we operate," said Darrell Davis, vice president of Circle K's Florida region. "For more than three decades, our partnership with UCP has been one of the most important outlets for Circle K to give back to the people we serve. We look forward to strengthening our ongoing relationship with UCP and are extremely proud to play a role in providing a life without limits for people with disabilities."

In other Circle K "giving back" news, immediately following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti, Circle K's West Coast division jumped in to support the ongoing efforts there.

More than 300 Circle K stores throughout the western United States will run four targeted campaigns asking patrons to support the Red Cross. Circle K will contribute to Red Cross a minimum pledge of $250,000 this year through cash donations, customer donations and fundraising events that will greatly help local Red Cross chapters in their efforts to ready their communities and respond to times of emergency and disaster.

Circle K will be selling promotional items to help individuals build and stock their emergency preparedness kit, as well as collecting donations to help support their local Red Cross chapter.

QuikTrip
Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip Corp. formed a new recycling partnership with American Waste Control for recycling cans, cardboard, paper and plastic. The partnership will help fund the "Mister Murph" program, which provides free educational materials and field trips for school kids in Tulsa.

Englefield Oil
Englefield Oil Co. and its BP supplier donated $10,000 to the Food Pantry Network of Licking County, Ohio, through a grant provided by BP's Fueling Communities Grant Program. The Food Pantry Network of Licking County is a cooperative that was established in 1981 to coordinate the acquisition and distribution of emergency food supplies by working through its member food agencies.

Casey's General Stores
Casey's General Stores Inc. recently pledged $50,000 to the Louisa County Fair Board's Youth Center Project of Iowa. The donation moves the project closer to its goal of $500,000, the estimated amount needed to construct and furnish the facility at the Louisa County Fairgrounds in Columbus Junction, Iowa. The Youth Center Committee hopes to have funding in place by next year and begin construction in the fall or the following spring.

Kangaroo Express
The Pantry's Kangaroo Express convenience stores in Florida have raised more than $233,000 for Give Kids The World Village (GKTW), a 70-acre, non-profit "storybook" village in central Florida that provides cost-free, weeklong vacations for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

"Give Kids The World is a compassionate and dedicated non-profit that helps share the magic found here in our backyard of central Florida with kids from all over the world," said Paul Moody, division vice president at Kangaroo Express. "We are honored to do our part in helping fulfill the wishes of these inspiring children and their families."

 

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