CASPER, Wyo. -- The March of Dimes said that its largest WalkAmerica sponsor in Wyoming and Colorado, the convenience store chain Loaf 'N Jug, increased its fundraising contribution for 2006 by more than 50% 2005. Last year, it contributed $100,000. This year, through a combination of in-store promotions and employee participation, the amount totaled $156,000.
Wyoming and Colorado are home to 147 Loaf 'N Jug stores. Headquartered in Pueblo, Colo., Loaf 'N Jug is a division of the Kroger Co. Loaf 'N Jug stores in six other states also participate in WalkAmerica.[image-nocss]
"We thank Loaf 'N Jug for its unparalleled support of WalkAmerica and the cause it serves, healthy babies," said Kim McJunkin, state director of the March of Dimes Wyoming chapter. "The funds Loaf 'N Jug raised will go a long way towards helping us invest in important research and programs that benefit babies and their families in our state and across the country. From store associates on up, everyone at Loaf 'N Jug is to be applauded."
WalkAmerica is the nation's oldest charitable walking event and the largest annual March of Dimes fundraiser. It enables March of Dimes healthy-baby programs of research, community services, education and advocacy. This year, Wyoming hosted 15 WalkAmerica events from Saturday, April 29, through Saturday, May 13. WalkAmerica was held in Colorado on Saturday, April 29, in eight communities.
Separately, Kwik Trip Inc. c-stores are holding a fundraiser for Special Olympics Minnesota on Friday and Saturday. For $4, customers can buy two brats and a 32-oz. Big Buddy drink, with $1 going to the charity.
Customers also can contribute through the Kwik Card Rewards program. Cardholders can designate Special Olympics as their charity so that they can donate three cents per gallon of gasoline spending and 5% of in-store purchases.
La Crosse, Wis.-based Kwik Trip, which operates more than 350 c-stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, is Special Olympics Wisconsin's Premier Partner. The chain raised more than $125,000 last year.
Also, the MFA Oil Foundation recently awarded a grant to Area Community Health Emissaries Inc., Anderson, Mo., reported the Neosho Daily News.
The grant was earmarked to purchase supplies for the children's dental clinic. Nancy Burks, treasurer of ACHE, said MFA donated $2,000 for stainless-steel crowns. We were able to parlay this into $3,500 worth of equipment. This month, when we bought $2,000 worth of stainless-steel crowns through Patterson Dental Supply, they donated a $1,500 curing light.
The foundation, established in 1999, provides support to nonprofit organizations that are working to improve communities where MFA Oil has a significant concentration of members and employees.
MFA Oil, a farmer-owned cooperative with more than 40,000 members, supplies fuels, lubricants, propane and tires to customers in Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa. The company also operates Break Time convenience stores, Jiffy Lube franchises, Big O Tire franchises and MFA Oil Tire and Auto centers.
And in Major Oil charity news, the ExxonMobil Foundation committed $1 million to help build a national memorial to Martin Luther King Jr., to be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Groundbreaking is scheduled for late 2006, and construction is expected to be completed in 2008.
BP America has awarded $30,000 in scholarships to 30 recent high school graduates and returning college students who live in metropolitan Washington, D.C. They were selected to receive BP Community Scholarships based on personal essays, academic performance, extracurricular activities, work experience, individual goals and demonstrated financial need. BP employees, dealers and jobbers in the area began the scholarship program in 1998 as a way to invest in the success of youth in the neighborhoods where they operate businesses. It has provided more than $350,000 in scholarships to more than 300 students. Applications were offered online and at stations. This year, BP partnered with Eastern Petroleum, new owner and product supplier of BP retail businesses in the market, to provide funds for the scholarships.
ConocoPhillips said it will donate $8 million to build a new community center in Belle Chasse, La., and to support educational programs in the Belle Chasse and Lake Charles, La., areas. It will contribute $5 million to build a community center in Plaquemines Parish. In addition, the Plaquemines Parish School District will receive $1 million to support academic programs that include science labs for physics, chemistry and biology instruction. The SOWELA Technical Community College in Lake Charles will receive $2 million to build a new industrial technology building.
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