School Bus Drivers and Garage Operations Staff Selected as One of Wawa’s “Catering to Our Communities” Recipients of a Free Catered Lunch to Recognize Unsung Heroes; Announce donation of 80,000 COVID Test Kits to the District
PHILADELPHIA—(March 4, 2022) – Today, Wawa and The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia (the Fund) came together to mark the one-year anniversary of a partnership that has supported the Philadelphia School District’s (the District) employees and operations throughout the pandemic. The celebration was held at one of the District’s three school bus garages where Wawa treated the school district drivers and garage operations staff to a special lunch as part of their new Catering to Our Communities program.* Drivers and staff at the two other bus station locations also were treated to a special appreciation lunch.
The event, held on National Employee Appreciation Day, continues to demonstrate Wawa’s support of The Philadelphia School District – not just the schools, students, and teachers, but all District employees, including the nearly 250 bus drivers and garage operators across the city. The District’s bus driver event was one of many “Catering to Our Communities” events held on this national day of appreciation throughout Wawa’s operating area.
Today at the event, Wawa also announced its donation of 80,000 COVID test kits to the District during January and February of this year to help keep teachers and students safe in the classroom.
“Wawa’s donations to The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia over this last year helped us recognize and thank District employees at a time when they were working harder because of the two-year pandemic,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, President and CEO of the Fund. “Wawa’s additional recent donation of 80,000 COVID test kits augmented a critical testing program to helping teachers, kids, and their families feel safe to resume in-person learning.”
Frisby-Greenwood said that last year on this date, at an event at Northeast High School, Wawa started its support by recognizing over 3,000 essential District employees who remained onsite to provide food and support to students and families in need with an Appreciation Kit, containing Wawa gift cards as well as coupons for hoagies, donuts, coffee, teas and other beverages. The Fund then purchased an additional 1,335 Appreciation Kits for bus drivers, IT professionals, building engineers, and others for a total of 4,335 kits distributed.
“As part of our commitment to serving our communities, we are delighted to support The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia and District faculty with food, resources, gift cards, and our appreciation for everything they’ve done to keep students safely in schools these past challenging years,” said Becky Altemus, Wawa Director of Store Operations. Altemus said, “On March 4th, National Employee Appreciation Day, it gives us great pride to thank the bus drivers and garage operations staff with a free catered lunch as they are truly unsung heroes in our community.”
“We are very appreciative to partners like Wawa who recognize the important work our employees do every day to support students, families, and communities,” said William R. Hite, Jr., Ed.D., Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia. “These last two years have been very challenging due to the pandemic, so we are grateful to Wawa for providing additional support to help our schools continue to safely offer in-person learning.”
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About The Fund for The School District
The Fund is a nonprofit connecting the private sector with the School District of Philadelphia. We align investing partners – private foundations, corporations and businesses, community organizations and individual donors – with District leadership to achieve schools’ plans and strategies. There are three pillars to what we do: champion strategic priorities, manage funds and facilitate partnerships. By coordinating these efforts, The Fund helps students in the District succeed and reach their full potential.
About The School District of Philadelphia
With more than 200,000 students and 19,000 staff, The School District of Philadelphia is the nation’s eighth-largest school district. Within the 342 district, charter and alternative education schools, students have access to 35 Advanced Placement courses, 40 career and technical programs and eight international baccalaureate programs. Its vision centers on providing excellent public school education to children throughout the City of Philadelphia and ensuring that all children graduate from high school ready to succeed as fully engaged citizens of the world. For more information, visit www.philasd.org.
About Wawa
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 1960s, 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 freshly prepared foods, beverages, coffee, fuel services and surcharge-free ATMs. Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. The stores offer a large fresh foodservice selection, including Wawa brands such as custom prepared hoagies, freshly brewed coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, specialty beverages and an assortment of soups, sides and snacks. Forbes.com Ranks Wawa as #23 of America’s Largest Private Companies in 2020. For more information, visit us on www.wawa.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at @wawa.
CONTACT: 610-246-2541, Sharon Gallagher
sgallagher@sage-communications.com (For The Fund)