Community Service Spotlight: Global Partners, Stripes & Tyson

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, CSNews Online highlights these philanthropic efforts in this special section.

Here are the latest company spotlights:

Dr Pepper Snapple Group

Twenty-six local and county governments in 19 states will receive durable, permanent recycling bins as part of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group/Keep America Beautiful (DPS/KAB) Park Recycling Bin Grant program. In total, the grants will provide nearly 900 recycling bins for placement at a variety of settings including athletic fields, parks, beaches, waterfront locations, walking trails and other natural settings. 

The 900 bins to be placed through the program this year add to the 710 bins provided last year in the inaugural year of the partnership. 

The KAB partnership is part of DPS’ ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability. The company has set specific operational goals to improve efficiency in energy and water use, reduce manufacturing waste and conserve packaging resources by 2015. 

Global Partners LP

Global Partners' Alltown convenience stores and the CF & MS Fund Foundation Inc. (CFMS Fund) donated $300,000 to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through a combination of Alltown customer contributions and other fundraising activities by the foundation. The money will be used to help support multiple sclerosis (MS) research and local efforts to help individuals and families affected by the disease. 

Of the total amount raised, $175,000 will be distributed to the society’s Greater New England Chapter, which serves 19,000 individuals and families affected by MS in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. The remaining $125,000 will be distributed to the Connecticut Chapter. 

Petroleum Marketers Inc.

Petroleum Marketers Inc. (PMI) and CITGO Petroleum Corp. presented a ninth-grade teacher at a Virginia high school with $1,000 in school supplies, including a digital document camera with a microscope attachment, as part of the CITGO Fueling Education Program.

Lloyd C. Bird High School teacher Amanda Simon was one of 109 elementary, middle and high school educators across 27 states and the District of Columbia who won customized packages of school supplies tailored to the needs of their specific students and classrooms.

PMI operates branded convenience stores throughout Virginia and West Virginia. 

Stripes Convenience Stores

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi was awarded $101,000 in funds from Stripes Convenience Stores for student scholarships. The donation will assist 101 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi students, who will each be awarded $1,000 scholarships during the 2014-2015 academic year through the Stripes College Scholarship Fund.

A four-week, in-store fundraising campaign was held at all Stripes locations throughout the chain's operating area from Dec. 2-29. Stripes customers purchased $1 Stripes College Scholarship Fund paper cutouts during the campaign to help local students obtain a college education.

In other company news, more than 580 Stripes stores are raising funds this month for pediatric equipment, treatments and recovery to benefit Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals. Donations from its 14th annual Miracle Balloon icon campaign will flow directly to 13 CMN hospitals in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Now through April 27, Stripes employees are rallying customers to "Put Their Money Where The Miracles Are" by purchasing a $1 Miracle Balloon paper icon to help their nearest CMN Hospital. Each donation at the register is being rewarded with a free 12-ounce Stripes Slush Monkey beverage and a buy-one-get-one free Smokin’ Barrel Snack Co. Peanuts or Trail Mix promotion.

Stripes has partnered with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for the past 14 years, raising more than $3.9 million. In 2013, Stripes, its associates and customers raised more than $971,000 during the spring campaign and they are pushing to hit the $1-million mark this year.

Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods’ K-12 division is accepting applications for the Making a Difference grant, aimed at helping schools execute their vision for student health and wellness. This is the second year the company will recognize a school for outstanding efforts in improving student wellness through physical activity, better nutrition and health education.

Through April 15, grant applications can be submitted by parents, teachers, students, school board officials or community leaders connected to the school.

Last year, Tyson Foods awarded Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., the inaugural Making a Difference grant, which funded improvements in the school’s student wellness room. The grant allowed the school to purchase exercise equipment, including jump ropes, stationary cycles and ping pong tables.