Community Service Spotlight: C-stores Make Strides Against Breast Cancer
NATIONAL REPORT — Giving back through community service efforts and charity donations is a positive force that keeps many retailers and suppliers of this industry moving ahead. On a regular basis, Convenience Store News will highlight these philanthropic efforts in this special section.
Here are the latest company spotlights, highlighting initiatives specific to contributions made for breast cancer awareness.
Jiffy Mart
Jiffy Mart, a division of Tevis Oil Inc., donated $3,500 to the Center for Breast Health to benefit breast cancer patients at Carroll Hospital, a nonprofit, acute care facility in Westminster, Md. On Dec. 17, Jiffy Mart employees from locations throughout Carroll County presented a check to Brenda Frazier, director of development at the Carroll Hospital Foundation, and Dona Hobart, M.D., medical director of the Center for Breast Health at Carroll Hospital.
The money was raised through a month-long fundraiser held in October at all four Jiffy Mart locations in Finksburg, Hampstead and Westminster. In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the stores sold items including pink pins, bracelets and magnets. Change collectors were also placed on the counters for customers to donate their loose change.
Liberty Petroleum Distributors
In a collaborative effort with Susan G. Komen for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Liberty Petroleum Distributors sold bottled water featuring the signature pink design of Susan G. Komen in all its travel plazas during the month of October.
All net proceeds from the water were donated to benefit those who are and who will be affected by breast cancer, according to the company. In total, Liberty Petroleum donated $3,500 to the cause.
Minnesota Independent Oil Co.
Minnesota Independent Oil Co. (MINNOCO) gasoline retailers raised $13,000 for Hope Chest for Breast Cancer, an organization that combines a foundation with upscale resale shops to generate income to support charitable programs for breast cancer patients in the Twin Cities and Rochester areas.
Through a six-week campaign called “Fueling the Fight Against Breast Cancer,” MINNOCO donated two cents for every gallon of unleaded plus gasoline sold to Hope Chest for Breast Cancer in partnership with Prime the Pump, a private ethanol organization.
Over the course of the campaign, MINNOCO retailers raised $4,000 to help a Lino Lakes, Minn., single mother of two who is currently fighting breast cancer by assisting her in financial support, paying for trips to the Mayo Clinic and with other financial burdens.
Thorntons Inc.
As part of its ongoing “Thorntons Challenge” philanthropic commitment to breast cancer awareness, Thorntons Inc. is continuing its partnership with Norton Prevention and Wellness to provide mobile-unit mammogram screenings for women throughout the Louisville, Ky., area. The initiative is made possible by an annual $100,000 grant that Thorntons has donated to Norton.
This year, mammogram screenings will be available for women aged 40 and older who have not been screened in the past year. Although co-pays will not be collected at the time of the exam, medically insured women's insurance companies will be billed for the low-cost screening. For uninsured women, funding will be provided for no-cost screenings.
Women can be screened aboard the Norton Mobile Prevention Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Thorntons locations on April 21, July 15 and Oct. 17-21 (Breast Cancer Prevention Blitz Week).
VERC Enterprises
By participating in the Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, VERC Enterprises raised $11,207 for breast cancer research, besting the company’s goal of $10,000.
Comprised of 60 VERC employees, relatives and friends, Team VERC participated in the annual fundraiser, which honors breast cancer survivors, increases awareness and raises money to help the American Cancer Society fight the disease through research, information and services.
Prior to the event, VERC accepted donations through canisters placed in each of its locations and through online donations.