Jul 21, 2021   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Convenience Store Industry Unites to Honor Hometown Heroes

On Saturday, July 24, also known as 24/7 Day, the U.S. convenience store industry is uniting to celebrate local heroes in their communities. 24/7 Day recognizes first responders, medical personnel and American Red Cross volunteers who work around the clock to ensure people don’t face emergencies alone. Hosted by the NACS Foundation, 24/7 Day raises awareness and donations for the urgent humanitarian needs of the Red Cross and spotlights the convenience store industry’s important role in supporting local heroes in the communities they serve.

“Convenience retailers are often the first supporters to first responders. Whether facing wildfires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes or snowstorms—or in last year’s case, a pandemic—convenience stores help ensure fuel, water, food and other necessities are available for emergency workers and customers craving a return to normalcy. And because of their 24/7 operations, convenience stores are often the only place open to serve first responders and medical personnel working overnight hours,” said Stephanie Sikorski, executive director of the NACS Foundation.

Convenience stores are closely tied to their communities: 93% of Americans live within 10 minutes of a convenience store, including 86% of rural Americans. The 150,000-plus U.S. convenience stores conduct 165 million transactions a day, the equivalent of serving half of the U.S. population every day, sell 80% of the fuel purchased and collect and contribute more than $1 billion annually to local organizations and charitable causes.

More than 28,500 convenience store locations are participating in this year’s 24/7 Day celebration, including Sheetz (a “Community Leader” sponsor), bp and Amoco, Casey’s, California Fuels and Convenience Alliance (CFCA), Certified Oil, Coen Markets, Cumberland Farms, The Convenience Group LLC, ExtraMile, Fastrac, High’s, Huck’s, Irving Oil, Kwik Shop, Loaf N’ Jug, Loop Neighborhood Market, Minit Mart, Pilot Company, Quik Stop, Rapid Refill & Garrett’s Family Market, Rutter’s, Shell, Sprint Food Stores, Square One Markets, St. Romain Oil, The Hub Convenience Stores, The Markets of Tiger Fuel Company, Tom Thumb, Turkey Hill, TXB, Wawa and Yesway.

Participating retailers support 24/7 Day in their own unique way, from offering free coffee, fountain and frozen drinks to a free breakfast and free bottled water for first responders, medical personnel and Red Cross volunteers.

In addition, NENA: The 9-1-1 Association is joining the 24/7 Day celebration to amplify the industry’s role in supporting 911 first responders. Also, GSTV, the national video network entertaining targeted audiences at scale across tens of thousands of convenience store retail locations, is supporting 24/7 Day via awareness video content at fuel dispensers as the NACS Foundation’s official 2021 media partner.

On average, more than 30,000 people a day receive assistance from the Red Cross, whether they need lifesaving blood, relief after a disaster, support with the challenges of military life, skills that save lives or international humanitarian aid. Every Red Cross donation helps change lives, and 90 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in delivering care and comfort to those in need.

“Families rely on community heroes for support during disasters and other crises,” said Don Herring, chief development officer for the American Red Cross. “That’s why we are grateful for this partnership to help ensure people don’t face emergencies alone. We hope you will join us on 24/7 Day, along with the NACS Foundation, to support this work and to thank our local heroes who help when it’s needed most.”

The NACS Foundation invites the public to take part in 24/7 Day by:

  • Donating to the American Red Cross to support its work in communities
  • Visiting 247Day.org for a complete list of participating convenience stores, unique local offers, and ways to support their in-store 24/7 Day efforts to show #ConvenienceCares
  • Sharing stories of appreciation for first responders, medical personnel, Red Cross volunteers and other local heroes in their community on social media with #WeHeartHeroes and #247Day

Sheetz is supporting 24/7 Day as a Community Leader Sponsor for the third straight year, with a generous donation to the NACS Foundation and the Red Cross.

About the NACS Foundation
NACS Foundation is the 501(c)3 charitable arm of NACS, the global industry association dedicated to advancing convenience and fuel retailing. In partnership with fuel retail, convenience and suppliers across the U.S., the NACS Foundation propels brighter futures by unifying and amplifying the philanthropic and charitable activities of the industry in communities across America. To learn more, visit conveniencecares.org, or visit us on Facebook at @TheNACSFoundation and Twitter at @NACS_Foundation.

About NACS
NACS, the leading global trade association dedicated to advancing convenience and fuel retailing, NACS advances the role of convenience stores as positive economic, social and philanthropic contributors to the communities they serve and is a trusted advisor to more than 1,500 retailer and 1,500 supplier members from more than 50 countries. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 150,000 stores nationwide selling fuel, food and merchandise, serves 165 million customers daily and had sales of $548 billion in 2020. For more information, visit convenience.org. Follow NACS on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.