Sheetz employees and customers break fundraising record
ALTOONA, Pa., 2017-Aug-23 — /EPR Retail News/ — Sheetz For The Kidz, a Sheetz employee-run charity that for the past 25 years has set out to make the holiday season brighter for children in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, today (Aug. 22, 2017) announced that it raised $560,000 during its July in-store fundraising campaign. This is a record for the July campaign, exceeding last year’s total by more than $100,000.
Throughout the month of July, Sheetz customers supported Sheetz For The Kidz through in-store donations at checkout with one hundred percent of donations going directly to supporting the children in the local community of each store. In addition to the July giving campaign, more than $750,000 was raised during the annual Sheetz For the Kidz Golf Classic, which celebrated its 19th year in May.
“In our 25th year, it is with great pleasure that we announce another record setting fundraising milestone for Sheetz For The Kidz,” said Travis Sheetz, Executive Vice President of Operations for Sheetz. “We thank our customers who donate their funds to this effort. We are also so appreciative of our dedicated employees who devote their time and efforts to helping kids in the communities our stores call home.”
The Sheetz For The Kidz Holiday Program provides children in need the opportunity to celebrate the holidays with new toys, clothes and other basic needs. The program works with The Salvation Army to identify families and collect their holiday wish lists. Sheetz employees from every Sheetz operating area shop, wrap and host parties for all the participating children. Over $1.4 million was distributed last year, making the holiday season brighter for more than 8,800 children in six states, amounting to 16 children from each Sheetz store location.
This will also mark the 12th year of Sheetz For The Kidz partnering with Make-A-Wish to sponsor families of seriously ill children so they can experience a weeklong dream vacation in Orlando, Florida. Fifty-four families will enjoy a cost-free vacation at Give Kids the World Village, an 84-acre, nonprofit “storybook” resort designed to provide accommodations for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families while experiencing the Disney vacation of their dreams.
About Sheetz For The Kidz
Sheetz For The Kidz is a non-profit organization, designated as a 501(c) (3) charity, independent of the Sheetz Corporation. The organization was created in 1992 by local store employees wanting to help local children. The mission of the charity is to provide support, hope, joy and happiness to children in need within the communities in which Sheetz operates. To date, the charity has raised more than $22.9 million and helped more than 100,000 children!
About The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need, in His name, without discrimination for more than 130 years in the United States. Approximately 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a range of social services: food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter for the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar we spend supports those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. The Salvation Army tracks the level of need across the country with the Human Needs Index (HumanNeedsIndex.org). For more information, go to salvationarmyusa.org, or follow us on Twitter @SalvationArmyUS.
About Make-A-Wish
Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed believe a wish come true has positive impacts on the health of children. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illness, and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family. Headquartered in Phoenix, Make-A-Wish is one of the world’s leading children’s charities, serving children in every community in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 33,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the country every 34 minutes. It has granted more than 285,000 wishes since its inception in 1980—more than 15,300 in 2016 alone. Visit Make-A-Wish at www.wish.org to learn more.
For further information:</strong
Laura Hager
lhager@planitagency.com
667.219.2017
SOURCE: Sheetz, Inc.