The Wills Group Highlights Accomplishments in Community Engagement Report
LA PLATA, Md. — The Wills Group has released its fifth-annual community engagement report, providing an overview of how it and its family of businesses, including Dash In, Splash In ECO Car Wash, and SMO Motor Fuels, support the company's commitment to give back to communities across the Mid-Atlantic region in which it operates.
Reflecting its commitment to keep "Lives in Motion," the report features the Wills Group's efforts throughout its fiscal year 2021, which included continued support to local communities during the pandemic, with the Wills Group providing more than $1 million in assistance during the past two years.
"By giving back and strengthening our bond with the communities we serve, we also strengthen our businesses and our bond with our employees," said Blackie Wills, president and chief operating officer of the Wills Group. "Our commitment to community engagement is essential to retaining our exceptional employees and attracting people who share our values."
Giving back has been a longstanding tradition of the Wills Group, which also celebrated its 95th anniversary this past year.
"The pandemic has caused us to look at food delivery differently as well as we address so many gaps in serving those in need," said Sandy Washington, executive director of LifeStyles of Maryland and Wills Group community partner. "The Wills Group's support and compassion through its expanded Community Engagement Program allows us to meet the increasing needs of our community head-on."
The Wills Group's Community Engagement Program now also includes an expanded focus on its neighbors through its Ending Childhood Hunger initiative. Via this initiative, the Wills Group and its businesses work to ensure children and their families facing hunger get the food they need to learn, grow and thrive. To expand this focus, the Wills Group partnered with Farming 4 Hunger to pilot a community garden at the College of Southern Maryland Prince Frederick campus. The garden produces an abundance of fresh food year-round and is available to students and their families through the college's on-campus Hawks Feeder pantry.
The Wills Group also announced this past year a new initiative, "Enhancing Outdoor Spaces," to support the neighborhoods in which its family of companies operate. As part of this effort, the Wills Group works with community partners and members to reimagine outdoor spaces in their own neighborhoods. In October 2021, The Wills Group's $30,000 grant helped improve Tanglewood Park in Clinton, Md., in partnership with the Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation. The investment was a part of the grand opening of the all-new Dash In neighborhood store that opened next door to Tanglewood Park.
The initiative also includes the Wills Group's effort to lead a community initiative to revitalize Phoenix Run, a community gathering and recreational space located in La Plata.
"I recently took part in a tree planting at the park my great-grandparents donated to the La Plata community more than 55 years ago," said Wills. "We are all planting seeds, both literally and figuratively, to grow a better community."
Other achievements celebrated in the Wills Group's fiscal 2021 community engagement report include:
- $615,570 total dollars granted
- $229,000-plus total dollars raised
- Thirty-three grants distributed
- Twenty-two organizations supported
- Forty-plus business partners engaged
The Wills Group also supported four food banks across the Mid-Atlantic region in 2021. This support resulted in the Capital Area Food Bank being able to provide 200,000 meals for families and stipends to support volunteers; Feed More distributing three tractor-trailer loads of mixed produce and 200,000 meals; the Food Bank of Delaware serving 373 additional children through its year-long backpack program; and the Maryland Food Bank providing 340,000 meals to support families experiencing food insecurity.
Family owned since 1926, La Plata-based the Wills Group has 277 retail locations across the Mid-Atlantic region, including Dash In, Splash In ECO Car Wash and SMO Motor Fuels.