Community Service Roundup April 2018: Initiatives by 7 Retailers

CHICAGO -- This community-service roundup features charitable efforts from seven convenience-store retailers.

Click through to read about these initiatives ...

During April and May, Aloha Petroleum is holding a customer donation campaign in support of the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), a national nonprofit focused on ensuring that children and families have access to healthy and nutritious foods. Customers of any Aloha Island Mart can donate $1 at checkout to support PHA’s efforts.

The Honolulu-based gasoline marketer and c-store operator also recently recently donated $5,176.28 (pictured) to the Hawaii State Chapter of the American Red Cross. The funds were raised through canister collection donations at participating Aloha Island Marts across the state.

Circle K, which is owned by Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., is inviting communities in the United States and Canada to make a meaningful contribution to local schools by fueling up at specially marked Circle K fuel pumps as part of its “Fueling Our Schools” campaign. One cent of every gallon of fuel sold at these pumps will be donated to a participating school (up to $2,000 per school per year). Schools will use their donations to address areas of need, such as technology, resources, teacher incentives and more.

Since its launch in 2015, the campaign has raised nearly $900,000 for local schools.

During the 2017 holiday season, Richmond, Va.-based GPM Investments and its network of about 1,000 c-stores raised $169,469 for kids with muscular dystrophy as part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) holiday pinup campaign.

GPM has partnered with MDA since 2011, raising more than $1.14 million total. The 2017 holiday pinup campaign put GPM over the $1 million mark in support of MDA.

In the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting deaths of 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, 7-Eleven franchisees in South Florida are helping raise funds via GoFundMe for a new school building and memorial. The franchises will donate 100% of the proceeds to the cause.

Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Flying J raised $981,000 in support of the American Heart Association’s (AHA's) “Life Is Why We Give” campaign. During February (American Heart Month), Pilot Flying J and its network of travel centers and convenience stores held several fundraising initializes to raise the money, including the sale of red AHA cups, with 10 cents going to AHA for every purchase, along with a 10-cent match from Pilot; the sale of paper heart icons; online donations; and the ability for customers to round up their purchases to the nearest whole dollar.

York, Pa.-based Rutter’s has announced 12 charitable organizations participating in its 2018 Vote with Your Dollars philanthropic program. This year’s program will run from April 1 through Oct. 31.

Customers can choose which organization they’d like to support through the Rutter’s mobile app or online. Then every dollar customers spend at the pumps or inside the store using their Rutter’s Rewards VIP or Rutter’s Rewards card counts as a vote for the selected charity. The Rutter’s Children’s Charities donation committee has set aside $75,000 to fund the winning capital requests from the 12 organizations, which are:

• Adams County SPCA
• American Red Cross
• Children’s Aid Society
• Easter Seals Western and Central Pennsylvania
• Garver YMCA GymCatz Gymnastics Program
• Leg Up Farm
• Make-A-Wish Greater PA & WV
• New Birth of Freedom Council, Boy Scouts of America
• New Hope Ministries
• Redneck Outlaws Inc.
• York County Food Bank
• York Habitat for Humanity

VERC Enterprises, Duxbury, Ma., recently presented The Gifford School in Weston, Ma., with a check for $500, a grant made possible through the ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Program.

Funded by the ExxonMobil Corp. and Global Partners LP, the ExxonMobil Educational Alliance program is designed to provide local retailers an opportunity to invest in the future of their communities through educational grants to neighborhood schools.

Have a community-service announcement of your own to share? Send related news to Kristina Peters at kpeters@winsightmedia.com.