WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. --QuickChek Corp. and The Festival Group, which produces the annual QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, have each been named among the most generous companies in New Jersey for the second year in a row.
Continuing its tradition of recognizing “all that’s great in the Garden State,” New Jersey Monthly magazine has announced that both companies will be among 64 companies honored at its second annual Great Oak Awards, which honor the state’s most generous companies.
“We are delighted to recognize companies that have been nominated by New Jersey’s leading charities for exceptional generosity in terms of financial support, in-kind giving, volunteerism and professional expertise,” said Kate S. Tomlinson of New Jersey Monthly.
Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based QuickChek, a convenience-store chain with 140 locations throughout New Jersey, New York’s Hudson Valley and Long Island, raised more than $460,000 in 2014 for a variety of causes benefiting children, families and military veterans.
Community programs include dozens of company executives and store team members volunteering at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey where they sorted donations to help feed thousands of hungry area families. Company stores also participated in the food bank’s Check-Out Hunger campaign in which QuickChek raised $125,000 during the holiday season.
More than 40 team members also volunteered to physically help rebuild homes along the Jersey shore that were damaged and still in need of repair following Hurricane Sandy.
In-store promotions include raising funds for Hope For the Warriors, which aids post-9/11 service members and their families. QuickChek also supports 145 youth sports groups statewide.
“We would like to thank each and every customer who shares our belief in helping those in need and for giving so generously,” said QuickChek CEO Dean Durling. “Our team members embrace being active in our communities and work hard to be a true neighborhood shopping destination in the areas we serve.”
The QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, in association with PNC Bank, has raised more than $2.55 million for dozens of local charities, non-profit groups and children’s hospitals the past 23 years.
“Volunteer organizations are one of the many reasons the Festival is so successful year after year,” said Howard Freeman of The Festival Group in Fairfield, N.J., which has produced the balloon festival since 1993. “The Festival, QuickChek and PNC, are all committed to being active in our community and we’re very happy to help out where we can each and every year.”
Beneficiaries of the annual festival, the largest summertime hot air balloon and music festival in North America, include local volunteer fire and ambulance departments, school groups, and the Children’s Miracle Network of specialized hospitals. In these challenging economic times, the festival has proven to be the leading fundraiser for many local organizations through either direct contributions or through their volunteering at this internationally acclaimed event.
This year’s festival at Solberg Airport in Readington drew a record 175,000 attendees.
QuickChek and The Festival Group will be among those companies honored at the Great Oak Awards dinner on Sept. 29, 2015, at The Palace at Somerset Park in Somerset.
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