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 highlights these philanthropic efforts in this special section. Here are the latest company spotlights:

CITGO Petroleum Corp.
CITGO Petroleum Corporation is rewarding the top 12 charities from the recent Fueling Good promotion. With more than 300,000 votes cast to determine the winners, these non-profit organizations will each receive $5,000 in CITGO Gift Cards to further promote the good work they do and the support they provide in their local communities. Since its launch in 2009, the CITGO Fueling Good program has generated more than a million miles of good for more than 200 charities.

The 12 winners in the Fall 2012 Fueling Good program are spread across 11 states in the CITGO footprint:

• Colors for a Cause – Helps families in Louisiana pay for expenses such as travel and household bills when a child, mother or father is fighting cancer.

• Information Technology Disaster Resource Center – Offers technological resources and operations assistance for disaster-stricken areas, primarily via a disaster response bus based in Fort Worth, Texas.

• CFS Solutions of West Michigan – Provides support programs and events for people in West Michigan who suffer from neuro-endocrine diseases including chronic fatigue syndrome.

• Samaritan House Community Center – Serves the hurting and hungry of Northwest Arkansas by providing snack packs to students with limited resources.

• Maria Luisa de Moreno International Foundation – Gives social and educational resources to immigrant populations in the New York area.

• Head Start of Fayette County – Delivers early childhood development programs that educate, encourage, and empower children and their families in Fayette County, Pa

• American Youth Rugby League Association (AYRLA) – Offers after school programs in the Providence, R.I., area that teach middle and high school students positive values such as teamwork, hard work, discipline and non-violence through sports.
   
• Haitian Student Parent Solidarity Association – Provides educational resources and materials to students in Haiti from its base in West Haven, Conn.

• Kopper Top Life Learning Center – Delivers therapeutic services to the disabled and others via animal/equine therapy practices around Liberty, N.C.

• Community Learning Center – Works to reduce dropout rates through tutoring services and offers life skills programs for underprivileged youth in the Clearwater, Fla., area.

• Southern Sustainable Resources (SSR) – Works to promote conservation, education, community action, public engagements, and scientific, economic, and social research in South Carolina.

• Sarasota Military Academy – Provides education, life skills, and value training to students, while encouraging them to participate in community service from its base in Sarasota, Fla.

Geo. H. Green Oil Inc.
Thanks to its annual holiday fundraising efforts, Geo. H. Green Oil Co. raised $26,000 in 27 days—an increase of 4 percent over last year’s campaign.

The funds were distributed to three local charities in the Fairburn, Ga., area: Greater Atlanta’s Empty Stocking Fund, which furnishes toys, educational material and clothing to more than 50,000 children each year; Fairburn’s In His Great Name Ministry, which feeds spiritual needs; and Newnan’s Welcome House, a shelter for women.

GSP
This past holiday season, GSP made to Give Kids The World (GKTW) and other charities on behalf of their customers.

Give Kids The World Village is a 70-acre, non-profit resort in Central Florida that creates magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. GKTW provides accommodations at its whimsical resort, donated attractions tickets, meals and more for a weeklong, cost-free fantasy vacation. With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, Give Kids The World has welcomed more than 120,000 families from all 50 states and more than 70 countries.

Living Essentials LLC
Due to the popularity of Pink Lemonade flavor 5-hour Energy and the support of fans, Living Essentials donated $387,531.20 to the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Cancer Crusade to fund breast cancer research and access to quality health care.

In October 2012, Pink Lemonade flavor 5-hour Energy was released. Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, five cents of every bottle of Pink Lemonade 5-hour Energy sold was donated to the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Cancer Crusade.

Unsure of how the new flavor would be received or how consumers would respond to the program, Living Essentials committed to a minimum donation of $75,000, but hoped that donation would grow. An advertising campaign got the word out across national TV, radio and Internet. Response to the new flavor and its tie-in to a great cause generated such great demand for Pink Lemonade 5-hour Energy that two additional production runs had to be ordered.

The Pink Lemonade flavor is becoming a regular part of the 5-hour Energy product line in 2013. The company said it is exploring another campaign to benefit breast cancer research in 2013.

Stewart’s Shops
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, customers shopping at Stewart’s Shops’ 324 locations throughout upstate New York and western Vermont raised $672,000. Stewart’s matched the amount, raising the total to more than $1.3 million.

Since launching 26 years ago, the program has raised more than $17 million for local charities.

Children’s charities may still apply for funding. Applications are due by Jan. 31.