Wawa Day Celebrates Wawa’s Founding and the Three-Year Anniversary of The Wawa Foundation
Wawa, PA , 2017-Apr-13 — /EPR Retail News/ — Wawa Inc. today (April 13, 2017) announced that in honor of its 53rd anniversary in retail, this year’s Wawa Day will be held on Thursday April 13, and Wawa will celebrate the occasion by offering customers free coffee, chain-wide, all day! Throughout the day, Wawa’s goal is to give away 2 million free cups of any size coffee to customers at its more than 750 stores across its six-state operating area.
In April of 1964, Wawa entered the retail business and opened its first convenience store. In April of 2014, Wawa celebrated its 50th anniversary in convenience retailing and marked the milestone with the first Wawa Day event and the launch of The Wawa Foundation, a 501c (3) non-profit organization founded to encompass most of Wawa’s charitable giving. Wawa and The Wawa Foundation are committed to donating $50 million to causes supporting health, hunger and every day heroes by 2018. Wawa and The Wawa Foundation are pleased to announce that on Wawa Day, they will mark the distribution of $2 million in first-quarter grants to charitable organizations, bringing the total contributions made since the inception of The Wawa Foundation to $35 million. This year, Wawa’s April 13th Wawa Day celebration gives the Company the chance to toast the community with free coffee, while celebrating its 53rd anniversary in retail and the third anniversary of The Wawa Foundation.
“Wawa Day provides us with a chance to connect with and honor the millions of customers we’ve served over the past 53 years who have been so integral to Wawa’s growth over that time,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa’s President and CEO. “At Wawa, we exist to go beyond filling customer orders to fulfilling the lives that we touch every day. Our core purpose is exemplified through the commitment of The Wawa Foundation to give back to the communities we serve, as well as through the dedication of the thousands of Wawa associates who make our stores such special places. It’s always exciting to celebrate our customers, associates and communities by giving away one of our most beloved products, Wawa coffee!”
In addition to giving away an expected 2 million free cups of coffee for all customers chain-wide, Wawa will be celebrating the millions of magical moments that happen at Wawa each day with in-store digital tributes featuring photos of some of the many “Day Brighteners” at Wawa that celebrate the unique relationship between Wawa associates and customers.
This year’s goal of 2 million cups of free coffee would be the most given away to date. Happy Wawa Day, everyone, and cheers to you all!
About Wawa, Inc.
Wawa, Inc., a privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Toward the end of the 19th Century, owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, PA in 1902. The milk business was a huge success, due to its quality, cleanliness and “certified” process. As home delivery of milk declined in the early 1960’s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 as an outlet for dairy products. Today, Wawa is your all day, every day stop for fresh, built-to-order foods, beverages, coffee, fuel services, and surcharge-free ATMs. In 2015, Wawa was named “America’s Most Beloved Convenience Store” by a Market Force study of 7,000 consumers, and in 2016 Wawa was recognized in Forbes as one of America’s Best Large Employers, a survey-based ranking of employers offering the best associate experiences and strongest opportunities. A chain of more than 750 convenience retail stores (525 offering gasoline), Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida.
CONTACT:
public.relations@wawa.com
Source: Wawa, Inc.