Community Service Roundup July 2018: Initiatives by 7 Retailers
By Kristina Hurtig on Jul. 11, 2018CHICAGO -- This community-service roundup features charitable efforts from seven convenience-store retailers and two suppliers.
Click through to read about these initiatives ...
CITGO Petroleum Corp.
In June, CITGO Petroleum Corp. and SpringSpirit Baseball joined Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve to host a youth clinic at SpringSpirit’s headquarters in Houston. The clinic gave 200 elementary, middle and high school students the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of baseball and the importance of leadership and teamwork.
Since 2014, Houston-based CITGO has supported SpringSpirit’s mission of serving underprivileged youth by facilitating after-school programing and baseball clinics led by Major League Baseball players, as well as through financial donations and career exploration tours. Earlier this year, CITGO served as the presenting sponsor for SpringSpirit’s biggest annual fundraiser, the Breakfast for Champions.
Photo provided by CITGO
Cumberland Farms
For the 12th consecutive year, Westborough, Mass.-based Cumberland Farms has awarded 130 high school seniors $1,000 scholarships as part of its Believe & Achieve program. This year, the retailer awarded scholarships to 34 students in Massachusetts, 31 in Florida, 18 in Connecticut, 13 in New Hampshire, 12 in New York, nine in New Jersey/Pennsylvania/Delaware, eight in Vermont, four in Rhode Island and one in Maine.
Cumberland Farms also honored Sonja Eiseman of Williamsburg, Mass., as this year’s Haseotes Scholar, an award named for the founders of the company and presented to the student who best exemplifies Cumberland Farms’ core values of hard work, achievement and commitment to the community.
Logo provided by Cumberland Farms
Kum & Go
For the fifth consecutive year, Kum & Go has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter. In April, the West Des Moines, Iowa-based chain pledged its support of Habitat’s Home Is the Key campaign with a corporate donation and a two-week in-store fundraising effort. Kum & Go also sponsored a monthlong home build in Des Moines to help mark the fifth year of its partnership.
Kum & Go also recently hired Emily Bahnsen (pictured above) as philanthropy manager. Bahnsen will manage the retailer's philanthropic giving programs, including the company’s annual United Way and Habitat for Humanity campaigns, grants and in-kind donations. She will also work closely with the Krause family, owners of the Kum & Go chain, on their personal philanthropic efforts.
Photo provided by Kum & Go
MFA Oil Co.
MFA Oil Co., Columbia, Mo., raised $135,000 for Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit organization that provides emergency and financial assistance to the families of U.S. military service members and veterans, during its MFA Oil Charity Golf Scramble and Concert on June 4 in Columbia. The money will go to active-duty military and veteran families in Missouri, Kansas and surrounding areas.
Photo provided by MFA Oil Co.
Musket Corp.
Houston-based Musket Corp., the trading and logistics arm of the Love’s Family of Companies, and Trillium, a provider of alternative fuels systems and renewable fuels, raised more than $290,000 at its sixth annual Drive for a Child golf fundraiser at Topgolf in Houston. The fundraiser supports kids being treated at Texas Children’s Hospital, and more than $1.39 million has been raised since the golf fundraiser’s inception in 2013.
Photo provided by Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores
Parker’s
During its 2018 Outstanding Students Award Ceremony, Savannah, Ga.-based Parker’s awarded scholarship checks and gifts to eight area high school students. Throughout the academic year, Parker’s honored one outstanding student each month in Georgia or South Carolina for excellence in the classroom, community and sports.
A panel of judges reviewed every nomination and identified the winners. Savannah Arts Academy senior Andrew Royek, Bradwell Institute senior Dayle McCallar, St. Andrew’s senior Riley Stillwagon, Benedictine senior Nick Iannone, Jenkins High School senior Jessie Barre, Savannah Christian Preparatory School senior Nicholas Arrowood, Bluffton High School senior Lizzie Rhoads and New Hampstead High School senior Alexandria Shearer each received $1,000 scholarships and earned special recognition for their accomplishments. Royek, who will attend Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., in the fall was awarded an additional $1,000 academic scholarship for his impressive academic, athletic and leadership achievements.
Photo provided by Parker’s
Rutter’s
York, Pa.-based Rutter’s recently donated $3,000 to local charities during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its newest and first out-of-state convenience store in Inwood, W.Va. The South Berkeley Volunteer Fire Co., Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department and Our Military Kids, which supports children of deployed National Guard and Reserve service members, each received $1,000.
Photo provided by Rutter’s
PepsiCo
The PepsiCo Foundation has awarded a $4 million grant to the Robin Hood Foundation, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization, to support high-quality education and workforce training programs for young women and girls in the Bronx. The grant will fund initiatives to help 20,000 females ages 13-24 increase their earning potential, addressing an acute need in New York City’s poorest borough, in which one in three women are living in poverty.
Established in 1962, the PepsiCo Foundation works with nonprofit partners to develop innovative, sustainable solutions that address challenges in underserved communities around the world.
Photo provided by PepsiCo Foundation
Sparkling Ice
Sparkling Ice, which is part of Preston, Wash.-based Talking Rain's family of beverages, recently announced its five Flavorful Futures Scholarship winners from across the country. Out of more than 3,000 students who applied, the following high school seniors have been selected and awarded scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each:
- Sarah Kline – South Forsyth High School, Cumming, Ga.
- Colton Whitaker – James Martin High School, Arlington, Texas
- Jessie Zgirta – Noblesville High School, Noblesville, Ind.
- Rosa Olguin – A. Phillip Randolph Campus High School, New York
- Benjamin Clarke – Emerald Ridge High School, Puyallup, Wash.
Award funds can be applied to tuition, fees, books and supplies at an accredited U.S. institution, including a four-year, two-year, trade or vocational program.
Photo provided by Sparkling Ice
Have a community-service announcement of your own to share? Send related news to Kristina Peters at kpeters@winsightmedia.com.