Community Service Spotlight
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:
VPS Convenience Store Group
VPS Convenience Store Group, operator of Everyday Shops throughout central Virginia, presented a $12,500 grant to the Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation as part of the BP Fueling Communities program.
Established in 2002, the Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation was chosen as the recipient of this grant because it serves the community by enhancing, maintaining and restoring personal health and well-being for all, regardless of his or her ability to pay.
BP's Fueling Communities program provides grants to local organizations that are nominated by BP branded fuel marketers to support the communities in which they do business. There are 14 Everyday Shops fueling locations that are branded BP in central Virginia.
Stewart’s Shops
Stewart’s Shops donated $1,500 to Saint Francis Hospital’s Learning Links Day Care Center’s Preschool Music Program. The program brings a licensed music instructor to the preschool classroom twice a week for 45-minute musical class sessions.
About 70 children take part in the interactive program held at the center’s two sites and on hospital grounds.
The grant is from Stewart’s Foundation’s Holiday Match Fund. Since 1986, Stewart’s Shops has collected and matched all donations at its stores between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
BP North America
The first stages of construction for the new Scotland County Elementary School playground in Memphis began this month thanks to a $1,500 grant from BP North America.
The gift was made possible by Gary and Mary Young of Gas & More in Memphis, along with Big River Oil Co. of Hannibal, as part of BP's Fueling Communities program.
The three-stage project will ultimately create a new playground for students in kindergarten, first and second grade, to be located west of the elementary school, between the high school and the elementary school.
Chevron Corp.
In order to support its "Enrichment Plus for Science Technology" fund for the 2012-13 school year, Chevron Corp. awarded a $5,000 grant to the Redlands Educational Partnership Foundation. These funds from Chevron will specifically provide underwriting costs for re-infusing science into technology into each school program by providing not only supplemental financial assistance, but also ideas and resources.
Lakeside Oil
CITGO and Lakeside Oil recognized Kids Corps Inc. as a 2012 Winter "Fueling Good" winner. Providing instruments, instruction, uniforms and transportation to young men ages eight through 16, Kids Corps members march in local parades and perform at various events in the Racine, Wis. area.
The organization also sponsors Racine's Boy Scout Troop 203. With the Fueling Good prize, the corps can travel thousands of miles this year as the members participate in various activities.
Kids Corps strives to instill a sense of purpose and pride in the young men who participate in the program. The drum and bugle corps is an outlet for its members to acquire a new skill and adhere to the ideals of camaraderie and brotherhood that the Boy Scouts program promotes. The charity operates strictly on volunteered time and donated funds from local supporters.
Santarelli & Sons Oil Co. Inc.
Santarelli & Sons Oil Co. recently launched the "Be A Star. Buy A Star." fundraising campaign to benefit St. Joseph's Center in Scranton, Pa. From May 18 through June 1, customers at the 14 Santarelli & Sons CITGO locations could buy paper "stars" for one dollar, with all of the proceeds to be donated to St. Joseph's Center during a special ceremony this month. The goal was to raise $1,000 during the two-week campaign.
St. Joseph's Center assists individuals diagnosed with intellectual disabilities or developmental delays, pregnant women, young families, couples hoping to adopt and patients who require outpatient therapy.
Parent Petroleum
CITGO and Parent Petroleum recognized the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps as a 2012 Winter Fueling Good winner. Devoted to cultivating self-esteem and self-reliance within its members, the Regiment encourages team work, sportsmanship and civic pride through the blending of the arts and athletics.
The Phantom Regiment strives to showcase the power of complex music combined with the skill of performance art. The Regiment has received many honors throughout its history, including its 1996 and 2008 titles as Drum Corps International's World Champion. The Phantom Regiment, which is comprised of performers with previous experience as musicians, dancers and color guard members, is a demanding and intense program that includes multiple winter and spring rehearsal camps followed by a 60-day national tour in the summer.
Folk Oil Co.
Folk Oil Co. and its 31 PS Food Mart stores located across southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio raised more than $68,000 dollars in just 18 days during the third annual "Fight Hunger. Give Hope." campaign.
Surpassing last year's donation by more than $9,000, all money raised will be donated to South Central Michigan Food Bank and Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, as well as several local food pantries throughout Michigan and Ohio to help feed families in need across the PS Food Mart footprint.
As a result of this donation, these organizations will be able to keep their pantries filled with nutritious food, including canned fruits and vegetables, pasta and protein. On average, these pantries help hundreds of families each week.