The Sheetz Inc. convenience store at Ronda Court in North Huntingdon will offer free coffee and fountain drinks Thursday as a reward for customers and employees raising more money for a charitable fundraising initiative in December than any of its 583 other stores in Pennsylvania and five other states.
The store at 101 Ronda Court, about one-quarter mile west of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Irwin interchange, raised $10,456 for the charity effort Sheetz For the Kidz, said company spokeswoman Jennifer Donahoe. Sheetz employees at the North Huntingdon store bought toys, clothes and other basic items with the donated money, then distributed the gifts at a party for 176 local needy children, Donahoe said.
Sheetz partnered with The Salvation Army, which identified the children who received the gifts, Donahoe said. Corporate-wide, Sheetz stores raised $700,821, used to provide toys, clothes and other basic needs for about 9,500 children during the holiday season, the company said.
From 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday, employees will hand out Sheetz For the Kidz cookies. Customers will have a chance to win various giveaways, such as gift cards, T-shirts and mugs, at a prize wheel.
Sheetz For the Kidz is a nonprofit charity, independent of Sheetz Corp. Created in 1992 by store employees, the charity is focused on providing support, hope, joy and happiness to needy children in the communities where Sheetz operates. The charity has helped more than 119,500 children since its founding, the company said.
