SWANSEA, Mass. -- In support of the community as it opens a new store, Cumberland Farms Inc. presented a $1,000 donation to support Swansea, Mass., Little League's Challengersa team comprised of mentally and physically disabled children ages 7 to 13.
Canton, Mass.-based Cumberland Farms' donation will help the league give children who would not usually have the opportunity, the chance to play ball on a team with their peers.
Separately, Lily H. Bentas, CEO and chairman of Cumberland Farms has been elected to the National 4-H Council [image-nocss] board of trustees.
"With her extensive business experience and leadership tenure with Cumberland Farms, Lily Bentas' strategic insight is invaluable to the National 4-H Council board of trustees as it works to strengthen the national 4-H Youth Development movement," said Anthony Tansimore, chairman of theNational 4-H Council board of trustees.
Last year,Bentas spearheaded the launch of the Corporate Giving Program, a new venture centered on improving prospects for young people, encouraging and supporting young people's achievements in business and leadership and providing educational opportunities for youth in the communities the company serves. As part of its corporate giving initiative, the company created the Cumberland Farms 4-H Youth in Action Grant. In total, the grant will impact 5,000 young people and 1,500 adults in an the 11-state region where Cumberland Farms operates, including Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
"We believe that our youth are our most precious resource, and we wish to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of young people in a more formal way," said Bentas, herself a onetime 4-H club member.
Cumberland Farms' operates a network of approximately 900 retail stores, gas stations and a support system including petroleum, dairy and grocery distribution operations. Bentas has been involved with Cumberland Farms most of her life, continuing and growing the family business that began more than 50 years ago by her parents, Vasilios and Aphrodite Haseotes. During the 1970s and 1980s, she spearheaded acquisitions and financing activities to expand the company's c-store and petroleum facilities, including the 1986 acquisition of the Northeast marketing and distribution assets of Gulf Oil Co. from Chevron USA. In 2003, she announced another chapter of growth for Cumberland Farms, expanding its branded retail petroleum business in the Northeast by acquiring more than 200 Exxon-branded stations from ConocoPhillips.
Sheis a former National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) board member and serves on its NACSPAC Committee. She is also on the board of Massachusetts Eye& Ear Infirmary, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, and a member of Leadership 100 of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America. In 2005, the Commonwealth Institute, in conjunction with The Center for Women's Leadership at Babson College, named Cumberland Farms the No. 1 woman-led business in Massachusetts.
"Lily Bentas is an outstanding leader and 4-H alumna with a wealth of leadership experience and remarkable passion for 4-H," said National 4-H Council president and CEO Donald T. Floyd Jr. "We are honored to have her join our board."
[Pictured: Back Row (l to r): Bob Horne, James Carpentier, Lynda Martone, Donna Filipe and Bob Tucker; front row (l to r): Bret Jardin, Cameron Levesque and Lyle Tucker.]
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