Community Service Spotlight: CITGO, Hanley Investment Group & Love's Travel Stops

CITGO Petroleum Corp.

At the end of 2023, CITGO provided funds to charities that operate on both the national and local level in the company's hometown of Houston.

CITGO first awarded a $100,000 grant to support SBP's Opportunity Housing program. The donation will be used to fund the installation of solar panels for the Tabor Street Apartments, a sustainable housing development built for vulnerable Houstonians. The seven-unit building is located in the Houston Heights Neighborhood and is designed to provide resilient, sustainable and affordable housing for individuals in an amenity-rich neighborhood. 

Construction of the Tabor Street Apartments has already begun and is due to be completed early this year.

CITGO also concluded another successful fundraising year with more than $2.9 million raised for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and its mission to support families living with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related neuromuscular diseases. Funds raised will be used to help accelerate research, advance multidisciplinary care and advocate for inclusion, access and equity for the neuromuscular community.

The funds were raised via CITGO-MDA-hosted golf tournaments in Houston, Lake Charles, La., and Corpus Christi, Texas, along with a golf tournament and bowling event in Lemont, Ill.

Hanley Investment Group

Retail real estate brokerage and advisory firm Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors raised $33,639 in November for Movember, a charity dedicated to changing the face of men's health in the United States and around the world. 

Movember funds various projects and receives donations year-round, but for the month of November, participating men start clean-shaven on the first, then groom and trim their mustaches to effectively become walking, talking billboards for the next 30 days, the company said.

This is the 13th consecutive year that Hanley has joined the global movement to raise awareness and critical funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. The firm has raised a total of $368,039 since initiating the campaign in 2011.

The campaign has particular personal resonance for Ed Hanley, president of Hanley Investment Group, as he lost his father to prostate cancer in 2009. 

Love's Travel Stops

In honor of Giving Tuesday (Nov. 28), Love's Travel Stops hosted a United Way event where local employees voted to donate $25,000 to Pivot Inc., a community partner of the United Way of Central Oklahoma.

[Read more: Love's Closes Out 2023 With Four Openings]

Founded in 1972, Pivot supports at-risk youth, including providing free shelter for children between the ages of 12 and 17, counseling services and a community intervention center which offers assistance to youth brought in by law enforcement and provides them with food, clothing, housing, medical assistance and mentoring, as well as helping them understand court proceedings as needed. 

Love's has partnered with the United Way since 1999, donating more than $8.5 million to the organization and its partners over the last 24 years. 

National Retail Solutions

National Retail Solutions (NRS) continued its NRS Cares initiative through the end of 2023, launching its 28th annual toy drive to support the YMCA of Paterson, N.J. 

This year's drive incorporated an Amazon Wish List, which was utilized in order to facilitate broader participation and allow the public to participate by selecting and sending toys directly to the YMCA location. 

"At NRS, our commitment to empowering communities extends beyond our POS [point-of-sale] services. We are thrilled to leverage technology this year to make giving even more accessible," said Elie Katz, NRS president and CEO.

OnCue

Throughout October, OnCue raised $367,000 during the annual St. Jude Children's Research Hospital promotion.

Participating restaurants and retail locations asked customers to donate at the register to support the hospital's mission of finding cures and saving children. In exchange for contributing $1 or more, patrons received a pinup displaying a St. Jude patient.

"It has been very special to hear the stories of how St. Jude Children's Research Hospital impacts the lives of the families they serve around the country and here in Oklahoma," said Laura Aufleger, president of OnCue. "St. Jude['s] has done incredible work over the years to increase resources and information about childhood cancers, which has helped the survival rate to increase."

In addition to the register donations in stores, OnCue hosted several other funding events, including a companywide walk in Stillwater, Okla., where the company is headquarter, and the retailer's annual golf tournament. OnCue also donated 50 cents for every limited-edition reusable cup sold for the fifth year in a row.

QuikTrip Corp.

QuikTrip Corp. created more than $3 million in grants to be awarded to local nonprofits and first responder organizations across the Phoenix metropolitan area.

At the event announcing the grants, the company also recognized long-standing partnerships with Valley of the Sun United Way and National Safe Place partner Child Crisis Arizona, as well as new support partnerships with three law enforcement organizations: the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, Phoenix Police Foundation, and Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association.

[Read more: QuikTrip Expands to New Texas Market]

Additionally, QuikTrip plans to make new investments with organizations focused on tackling homelessness and addiction, including the Phoenix Rescue Mission and Sojourner Center.

Since its founding in 1958, QuikTrip has donated 5% of net profits to the communities it serves. In 2023, QuikTrip invested more than $3 million in several organizations across the Valley. 

Texas Born

Over the course of 2023, Texas Born (TXB) raised a total of $904,000 in donations for various initiatives, programs and campaigns aimed at improving the lives of children in need.

The company's most recent endeavors included the 27th annual Golf and Fishing Tournament and its year-end Round Up for CASA Kids campaign, which ran throughout December and gave customers the opportunity to round up their purchase to the next dollar or donate any amount of their choosing to support Texas Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).

Texas CASA is an organization dedicated to enhancing the child protection system through legislative advocacy and positive public policy changes. The organization provides a voice for children within the system and pairs volunteer advocates with every child in state care due to abuse and neglect.

Yesway

Yesway raised $600,000 during its annual Golf & Clays Classic charitable fundraising tournament. 

Held each year at the Cowboys Golf Club and Elm Fork Shooting Sports in Dallas, Texas, beneficiaries of the 2023 event included Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit focused on building strong, stable and secure military families; the Christian Outdoor Alliance; Walk In Their Shoes, whose aim is to put $5 million worth of shoes on the feet of disadvantaged youth; and various other organizations.

[Read more: Yesway Unveils Plans for Allsup's Expansion in Oklahoma]

Yesway also utilized funds to support local charities, civic organizations, military and veterans groups, and first responders including local police, fire, EMS and sheriffs' departments. Many of these organizations were recognized publicly during check presentation ceremonies at Yesway and Allsup's store grand opening events throughout 2023.

Top tier sponsors of Yesway's 2023 Golf & Clays Classic donated a minimum of $10,000 this year and included:

• Admiral Beverage
• Liggett Vector Brands
• AMCON Distributing Company
• Molson Coors
• AmeriChicken
• NuTech National
• Anheuser-Busch
• Pepsi Beverages North America
• BIC
• Red Bull North America
• Constellation Brands
• Premier Distributing
• D&H United Fueling Solutions
• Standard Sales Co.
• Delek
• Valero
• Keurig Dr Pepper
• White Tucker Co.
• L&F DISTRIBUTORS