Community Service Spotlight: Rutter's, Sheetz & Stripes
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:
Parker’s Corp.
Parker’s presented a $1,500 Fueling the Community check to Liberty County Schools in Georgia as part of a larger unrestricted charitable contribution to area schools in South Carolina and Georgia. Parker’s donates 1 cent of every gallon of gas purchased at all of its convenience stores on the first Wednesday of the month to area schools through its Fueling the Community program.
Rutter’s Farm Stores
Rutter’s donated $213,000 to central Pennsylvania charities in 2013, increasing the company’s charitable giving total to $3.7 million over the last 10 years.
Among the organizations to receive assistance last year were:
- Leg-Up Farm received $5,500 to continue its mission to enrich the lives of families with special-needs children through customized therapeutic experiences.
- York Little Theater will use its $12,500 donation to upgrade the theater’s lighting system.
- Chambersburg Hospital received $20,000 to purchase cutting-edge neonatal care equipment.
- Crispus Attucks Association of York received $50,000 to provide education services, human services, community development and affordable housing to area residents in need.
- The Make-a-Wish Foundation will use its $30,800 donation to continue its mission to fulfill the dreams of local children with life-threatening illnesses.
Sheetz Inc.
Sheetz made a special delivery of more than 5,000 gallons of bottled water to be distributed in the Charleston, W.Va., area to help those affected by the recent chemical spill along the Elk River. Putnam County EMS personnel and volunteers were on hand to help give away the beverages.
Shell Oil Co.
Penn State Extension’s 4-H youth development program received a $100,000 donation from Shell to support the growth of 4-H science programming in 11 Pennsylvania counties in 2014. The gift will be used to increase the number of new youths participating in 4-H science programs through 4-H club and afterschool programs; support new or expanded programs in a variety of curriculum areas; and help train 4-H volunteers to deliver new science programs to youths.
Stripes Convenience Stores
Stripes and its customers contributed more than $530,000 in just four weeks to the 2013 Stripes College Scholarship Fund campaign, far exceeding its goal of $400,000. Customers purchased $1 paper cutouts during the December campaign to help local students obtain a college education.
In just the first year of its existence, the Stripes College Scholarship Fund will award $1,000 scholarships to 530 students in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. All funds raised from the in-store campaign will be distributed as student scholarships in the 2014-2015 academic year. Stripes is underwriting all administrative costs to run the scholarship program.
The four-week fundraising campaign was held at all Stripes locations throughout the chain’s operating area from Dec. 2-29. The scholarship awards will be selected and managed by the participating community colleges and universities enrolled in the program.
Sunoco Inc.
Sunoco celebrated the opening of its newest APlus location in North Charleston, S.C., by immediately linking up with charitable efforts in the region. The company is in the midst of a six-week campaign encouraging customers in Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties to donate to the Lowcountry Food Bank, with pledge cards available in stores through Jan. 31.
Sunoco originally announced a donation match up to $10,000, but the response from customers was so enthusiastic that company officials increased the match to up to $15,000. This drive augments the ongoing Caffeinate Charleston program, launched in the summer of 2012, in which Sunoco donates a portion of the proceeds from every cup of its Lowcountry Blend coffee to Lowcountry Food Bank.