Wawa Seeks 'Day Brightener' Stories in Honor of Upcoming Anniversary

WAWA, Pa. — In honor of Wawa Inc.'s 59th Wawa Day celebration on April 13, the convenience store retailer put out a call for "day brightener" stories. Customers are invited to share stories to celebrate the store teams and associates who brighten days and create magical moments that shape Wawa's communities and fulfill lives every day.

Each year, Wawa hosts a celebration in April to thank customers for their support while marking its entrance into the c-store business back in April 1964.

From March 1 through March 10, customers can visit www.wawa.com/daybrighteners to share an uplifting moment or heartfelt story involving a Wawa experience, team or associate. Wawa will choose 10 submissions to be featured and honored in a variety of ways.

Examples of real-life day brightener stories include throwing a birthday party for a beloved customer, an associate hand-delivering a customer their favorite soup while they're ill, and an associate finding baby formula in the middle of a formula shortage and driving an hour to drop it off at a customer's house, according to Wawa.

"Every year, Wawa Day gives us a chance to honor our heritage and the journey that has taken us from a single convenience store in 1964 to close to 1,000 stores with countless customers connections 59 years later," said Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens. "This year, we are excited to honor the special role our associates play in our customers' lives by capturing these incredible stories and making them a focal point of our Wawa Day festivities.

"We can't wait to learn about new and touching examples of the way our associates brighten our customers' lives and continue to help us grow and fulfill more lives in every community we serve," Gheysens continued. "We have 45,000 values-driven associates who share the same simple goal — to fulfill lives, every day. And this Wawa Day, we plan to celebrate and recognize the impact simple acts of caring and kindness can have on the communities around us.

Ways the day brightener stories will be celebrated include:

• Contributions to Children's Miracle Network: For every story received, Wawa will make a $50 contribution, up to $50,000, to benefit its national partner, Children's Miracle Network.
• A special video shared on Wawa social channels and in stores: The top 10 selected stories will be transformed into an inspiring video campaign and shared with the entire Wawa community on Wawa Day through social media and on screens in stores to inspire positivity and kindness on Wawa Day.
• Wawa Day celebrations: The 10 stores that are the subject of the winning day brightener stories will host special events in-store with day brightener gift baskets for the story participants and check presentations to local chapters of Children's Miracle Network hospitals.

Wawa operates nearly 1,000 c-stores throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C.