TEXARKANA, Texas; CHARLESTON, WV; RICHMOND, VA – E-Z Mart Stores Inc. raised approximately $185,000 at its 23rd Annual Jim Yates Memorial Charity Golf Tournament on September 16, the company announced.
The annual fundraising event provides monies to charities throughout the communities in which E-Z Mart serves, targeting education, culture, health and humanities. Since its inception in 1990, the E-Z Mart Jim Yates Foundation has contributed more than $2.7 million to local charities, including the Komen Race for the Cure, the American Heart Association, Domestic Violence Prevention, Opportunities, Inc., and Women for the Arts.
The tournament was named in honor of Jim Yates, former NACS chairman and E-Z Mart’s founder, who headed up the annual tournament until his death in 1998. The tournament was renamed in 1999 to honor his memory.
Further north (and east), the West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association (OMEGA) announced that in conjunction with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, it raised $161,466 in August to help grant wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. OMEGA has raised nearly $255,000 this year for children’s organizations in West Virginia, and more than $1.8 million since 2003 helping improve the health, safety and well being of West Virginia children.
“Our members, as well as the West Virginia public, truly get behind these efforts to help our children. The results of our August Make-A-Wish Foundation campaign and our April Children’s Home Society effort prove this out. This is all about making a difference in a child’s life and we are very appreciative of the public who graciously supported this effort,” said Jan Vineyard, president of OMEGA.
Nearly 600 OMEGA-member convenience stores and grocery stores sold wish stars during the month of August. In addition, the association held a golf outing earlier this week where corporate sponsors donated tens of thousands of dollars to the cause.
Everyday Shops and Cafes, a convenience store chain owned and operated by GPM Investments, presented $12,500 in grants to Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation to support community health initiatives in Charlottesville, VA, thanks to the BP Fueling Communities Program.
“It is our privilege to work with our fuel partner BP to provide this grant money so we can make a real difference in our local communities,” said Bill Reilly, senior vice president of marketing for GPM. “We are committed to finding positive ways to impact the people who live in the neighborhoods we serve.”
The Everyday Shops and Cafes chain has awarded $25,000 to the Hospital Foundation since 2012.