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HOW YOUR FAVORITE CONVENIENCE STORES GIVE BACK

March 14, 2019 by Ally Azzarelli – With more than 153K convenience store operating in the U.S., it’s nice to know that your local c-store is doing more for your community than simply serving up coffee and snacks. From scholarships to feeding the hungry – here’s a look at what some of today’s leading retailers such as Circle K, Pilot Flying J and Wawa are doing to help the neighborhood.

Gas Station Canopy

CEFCO

CEFCO supports education through its C.E. Fikes Endowed Scholarships as well as healthcare and medical research through a variety of partnerships and fundraisers. CEFCO’s in-store balloon sales programs and annual golf tournaments have helped the company make significant donations to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Habitat for Humanity.

Casey’s General Store

“We believe in neighbors helping neighbors,” states Casey’s General Store charitable-giving page. “That’s why we’re committed to helping local organizations make a difference in their communities.” The Iowa-based c-store proudly contributes to organizations through sponsorships, food and monetary donations as well as offers fundraising cards to assist non-profit youth organizations.

Circle K


This corporate giant with the huge heart helps financially sponsor and support a lengthy list of causes including the Make a Wish® Foundation, the Red Cross, cancer research, children’s charities, disaster recovery aid, Habitat for Humanity, the Special Olympics, the United Way and the March of Dimes, just to name a few. Additionally, hundreds of Circle K stores raise money for schools through its Fueling Our Schools donation program and once a year, on Fuel Up Night, the company celebrates with its communities and makes a generous donation.


Cumberland Farms 

Feeding the hungry, serving disabled veterans, supporting libraries and schools,  fundraising to fight cancer, Cumberland Farms is known for giving back to the community. Other organizations that benefit include the United Way and the American Red Cross. The company has also held their Cups for Kids fundraising campaign, a month-long project that benefits pediatric care programs at five hospitals in the Northeast – including Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.


7-Eleven

It’s challenging to find a cause the world’s largest convenience store chain isn’t supporting – you name it … Military, women, children, the environment, this c-store is actively involved with helping all the communities it serves. 7-Eleven has its own charitable programs including: Project A-Game, a community outreach program that offers youth development opportunities through education, fitness, safety and hunger relief, as well as, 7-Eleven Operation Chill program, the company’s community outreach program designed to reduce crime and enhance relations between police and youth.

MAPCO

Established in 2017, the MAPCO Giveback Program raises funds to benefit local children’s non-profits and charitable events within the MAPCO footprint. The MAPCO Giveback Tournament offers its partners the opportunity to help the company through a variety of sponsorships.

Pilot Flying J

Pilot Flying J was founded by a veteran and proudly employs and serves veterans. Pilot Flying J’s Fueling Life’s Journeys program supports 20+ nonprofit organizations including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Feeding America, Hire Heroes, Teach for America and Trucking Cares Foundation.

Thorntons

Passionate about giving back to the communities where its employees and guests live and work, Thorntons team members volunteer via community service, humanitarian day events, and fundraising projects. Additionally, Thorntons local stores focus its efforts on ending childhood hunger in America. The company welcomes nonprofit organizations to contact them for sponsorship consideration.

Yesway

Through a partnership with Operation Homefront, Yesway supports, honors, and meets the needs of current and former members of the U.S. military and their families. The Iowa-based retailer makes a lump sum donation as well as donates a portion of every Yesway-branded spring and purified water sold in its stores.

Wawa

The Wawa Foundation is committed to building strong communities. The company supports health by sponsoring life-saving research and care for people in need, leading hunger relief efforts and helps local military, veterans, first responders and other heroes. The Pennsylvania-based c-store chain also proudly partners with the American Red Cross.


Are you a retailer looking to get the word out about your charity efforts or
fundraising event? Contact us for help with branding, graphic design services, signage and more.

 

Our Brand Story

GSP started as a printing company in1978. We found our niche supplying in-store signage for convenience stores when retailers guessed quantities they needed. This led to overage, waste and expense. To solve this, we developed software to guarantee on-time delivery of “the right size sign, to the right store, every time.”

In 2014, we started AccuStore with a dedicated team. As software helped drive our growth, we realized that new printing and fulfillment sites near customers could drive business and improve sustainability. We acquired companies that fit GSP’s technical excellence and superior customer service models.

First was Great Big Pictures in Madison, WI in 2015. They lead the field in large format printing and visual merchandising for iconic fashion retailers. Their standards for customer service include award-winning sustainability programs, and expertise to bolster retail environments services.

In 2020, GSP acquired Custom Color in Lenexa, KS. The company supplies printed graphics to leading retailers. Custom Color’s stellar quality in fabric printing also aligns with GSP’s values.

GSP provides branding and marketing services with a focus on site-specific execution to help transform our customers’ growth strategies into store-level success. We design retail environments to engage shoppers and provide superior customer experiences. AccuStore powers our retail marketing, execution and digital display technologies and ensures stores get only what they need. GSP is a forward-thinking company that’s here to serve retailers now, with a focus on their future.

GSP delivers graphics and digital marketing to over 75,000 retail locations. Our experts provide retail branding and marketing services, focused on site-specific execution. Our methods ensure stores get only the POP they need, at the lowest cost. Our Retail Environments team creates and deploys amazing, in-store shopping experiences.