Parker's Kitchen
Parker's Kitchen made a $5,000 Fueling the Community donation to Aiken County Public Schools at the official ribbon cutting for the company's first store in Aiken, S.C., on April 10. Dr. Corey Murphy, chief officer of operations and student services for the Aiken County Public School District, accepted the donation on behalf of local teachers and students.
The Parker's Fueling the Community charitable initiative donates a percentage of gas sold at all Parker's Kitchen locations on the first Wednesday of each month to area schools. The company has donated more than $2 million to area schools across South Carolina and Georgia since the inception of the Fueling the Community program in 2011.
"At Parker's Kitchen, we want to exceed expectations and to be a great community partner," said Parker's Kitchen Founder and CEO Greg Parker. "Education serves as the foundation of our philanthropy. We're deeply honored to support Aiken County Public Schools and are committed to being an excellent neighbor in Aiken, Augusta and North Augusta."
The convenience store chain is also still running a round-up campaign to support local injured veterans, with proceeds benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project. Through July 4, Parker's Kitchen will match 25% of all customer round-up donations to amplify the fundraising impact.
Wawa Inc.
Ten years after The Wawa Foundation's inception, the organization has reached more than $160 million in donations.
Launched in 2014 in celebration of Wawa Inc.'s 50th anniversary in convenience retailing, the foundation has affected more than 6,500 organizations across the communities Wawa serves. In addition, more than 35 million meals have been donated from company stores to local food pantries through the Wawa Share Food Donation Program.
[Read more: Wawa Opens First of Three Alabama Stores Planned for 2024]
"We are incredibly grateful for the generosity and dedication of our wonderful customers and associates for helping us reach this level of giving just 10 years after launching The Wawa Foundation," said Maria Kalogredis, foundation chairperson and chief people officer for Wawa. "As we reflect on this milestone year for Wawa and The Wawa Foundation, we look forward to the next decade and know that with the support of our dedicated associates and customers, we will be able to fulfill more lives than ever before."
Wawa and the Wawa Foundation build relationships with local communities and national partners through various programs, including:
- Financial grants supported by in-store charity collection campaigns.
- In-kind support for local community events and organizations.
- The Wawa Share Food Donation Program, which makes daily donations of unsold foodservice products to local food pantries.
- Fly Beyond programs, which fight food insecurity at the community level by increasing access to nutritious food and healthy meals for underserved youth through Wawa's CheckOut Hunger food bank partners.