Community Service Roundup, April 2021

CHICAGO — This month’s community service roundup features six convenience stores and four c-store suppliers.

Click through to see what Sheetz, Murphy USA, Energy North Group and more retailers are doing to give back to their communities.

Sheetz, Altoona, Pa., donated $10,000 to the Mid-Ohio Food Collective to help people access nutritious meals.

Sheetz raised the money through a challenge to Columbus, Ohio, fans where it encouraged people to post about Sheetz coming to the city using the hashtag #SheetzIsComing. After receiving enough posts to break Sheetz “Freak-o-Meter,” the company donated to the food bank.

“We are proud to be providing the Mid-Ohio Food Collective with resources that will make a positive impact and help the organization provide thousands of meals for the community,” said Sheetz CEO and President Travis Sheetz. “We are so impressed, but not surprised, by local residents who continued to display their excitement for our brand and, most importantly, broke the meter so that we could donate to an important cause in their community.”

Sheetz opened a new location April 13 in Delaware, Ohio, near Columbus.   

Murphy USA Inc., El Dorado, Ark., is expanding its partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

The c-store chain’s Great Futures Fueled Here campaign benefits the organization that helps enable all young people to reach their full potential. In addition to the $1.5 million already raised to support the non-profit, Murphy’s is committing to raising an additional $500,000 during their 2021 campaign.

“In the second year of our partnership, we will again leverage our team members across the chain to encourage customers to “round-up” their purchases to provide much needed funding to their local Boys and Girls Clubs. This financial support helps to provide youth in our communities with the essential tools for cultivating a successful future,” said Andrew Clyde, president and CEO of Murphy USA.

The campaign will run in phases. Phase one started April 7 and goes through July 6. During the campaign, customers can make a contribution of $1, $5 or $10, or roundup their purchases to the nearest dollar at checkout.

Energy North Group (ENG), Lawrence, Mass., is raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Funds are used to send children to MDA Summer Camp and to support research and care initiatives for people living with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related neuromuscular diseases.

Throughout March, ENG and Haffner’s gas stations and c-stores had MDA Shamrocks available to purchase for a direct donation to the charity. Energy North Group also donated $5 for every car wash packaged purchased.

ENG donated a total of $108,855 through the campaign, its largest contribution to the organization.

GetGo Cafe and Market, the c-store brand of Pittsburgh-based grocer Giant Eagle, is supporting local artists.

GetGo paired with Pittsburgh-area artists to make original designs for GetGo’s new Spiked Slushies cups. People could vote on their favorite design through April 25 to determine which artwork will be featured on the cups through the summer.

“Our team has always been inspired by the talent of our local arts community and we’re excited to now bring that experience to our guests in a unique way,” said Jon Cox, GetGo vice president and chief merchant. “The addition of an original art piece on GetGo’s Spiked Slushies cups this summer is only the beginning of what we hope will be a long-lasting partnership with the arts community.”

GetGo is also donating $5,000 to support the programming of The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.

7-Eleven, Irving, Texas, collected and donated non-perishable food in April for communities throughout the Northeastern United States. Donations were divided between five Feeding America member food banks.

The initiative was created in conjunction with National Volunteer Month. Stores in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont participated.

"The past year has proven the importance of community and taking care of one another," said Sembe T. Cole, north Atlantic zone vice president for 7-Eleven. "We are proud to have 7-Eleven franchisees and employees committed to giving back to community members in need, and look forward to finding new, creative ways to involve our entire zone in similar opportunities in the future."

This is one of several ways 7-Eleven supports Feeding America.  

Spinx, Greenville, S.C., raised $421,912 for the March of Dimes. The money helps mothers have healthier pregnancies, assists families with newborns in intensive care units and funds research to fight birth defects and premature birth.

Eighty-two stores contributed to the total donation amount by encouraging customers to donate to March of Dimes while making their purchases at the counter or while fueling at the pump.

“Words can’t adequately describe the personal and professional pride I feel toward each and every Spinx teammate and guest for rallying around the cause of healthy mothers and babies,” said Spinx President Stan Storti, who served as the chairman for the Greenville March of Dimes March for Babies in 2018. “I have a personal connection to the March of Dimes because my first son, Joseph was born over 12 weeks early and weighed just under three pounds. The March of Dimes volunteers in the NICU offered my family the support we needed at a very scary time in our lives.”

Spinx has given almost $3 million to March of Dimes in the past 12 years.

Constellation Brands, Victor, N.Y., is giving $1.75 million to support the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and the launch of their Restaurants Advance campaign. The multi-year collaboration with the NRAEF will help rebuilt the industry following the COVID-19 pandemic and create opportunities for restaurant workers from all backgrounds, according to the beverage company.

The restaurant industry finished 2020 nearly 2.5 million jobs below its pre-pandemic levels, according to the NRAEF. Constellation’s collective contribution—which includes support from the Corona brand family. SVEDKA Vodka and Meiomi—will support NRAEF’s recruiting efforts.

Bubly Sparkling Water, from Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo, is partnering with non-profit Family Equality, an organization with a mission to protect, support and connect LGBTQ+ families as they navigate obstacles.

The brand is launching a campaign that puts a twist on the traditional tropes of parenthood to generate wider awareness and financial support for LGBTQ+ families. The campaign features sales of The Path to Parenthood: LGBTQ+ Edition book, a baby registry that highlights the financial needs of LGBTQ+ parents and parents-to-be by allowing supporters to donate funds through the registry and an #InTheProcess social media initiative to highlight why these parents need support and understanding.

Bubly will also donate $100,000 to Family Equality and PepsiCo will include Family Equality as one of its charity partners for the company’s employee match program.  

Sparkling Ice, from Preston, Wash.-based Talking Rain Beverage Co., is launching a Purposeful Prizing rewards program where consumers can give back to four charities as they redeem rewards points.

For every qualifying purchase, consumers will be prompted to register and upload their receipts to the Sparkling Ice Rewards site where they can use their points to have Talking Rain donate to one of four non-profit organizations. Those non-profits are JDRF, Together We Rise, Terrapass and Homes For Our Troops.

Gifts that will be donated through each charity include a bag of hope from JDRF for children with Type 1 Diabetes, a sweet case duffle kit from Together We Rise for children entering foster care, an individual and family annual carbon offset equivalents from Terrapass to neutralize carbon emissions and an American flag from Homes For Our Troops to welcome veterans into their new home.

Mountain Dew, from PepsiCo, is releasing its DEW-S-A flavor this spring to support Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a charity that provides a lifetime of support to veterans and their families.

To celebrate the partnership, country music duo LOCASH will host a virtual meet and greet for veterans. Mountain Dew is also donating $25,000 to the organization to further its mission of empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity.

First launched in 2017 for a limited time, DEW-S-A is the combination of three favorite Dew flavors: Mountain Dew Code Red, White Out and Voltage. It will be available at retailers through June 14.