Report highlights company efforts to eliminate childhood hunger and ensure safe and healthy homes
The Wills Group today released its 2017 Community Engagement Report, “Keeping Lives in Motion,” which highlights the company’s increased commitment to community engagement and giving back in communities across Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The report illustrates the Wills Group’s strategic focus, set in 2017, on issues where the company believes it can make the greatest impact: Eliminating Childhood Hunger and Ensuring Safe and Healthy Homes. The goals for the community engagement effort are to ensure that basic needs are met and that everyone has opportunities to create a better future for themselves.
“For more than 92-years, we have committed ourselves to caring for and supporting the communities where we operate and live,” said Lock Wills, Chairman, CEO and President of the Wills Group. “This report makes clear our ongoing dedication. I am incredibly proud of our company and the efforts of our employees who contributed hundreds of hours through on-site volunteerism, and who also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for our charitable partners.”
Achievements celebrated in the 2017 Community Engagement Report include:
Eliminating Childhood Hunger
- 1.5 million meals for children in partnership with No Kid Hungry
- 10,000 new children enrolled to receive free breakfast in Maryland and Virginia
- $150,000 donated to No Kid Hungry
Ensuring Safe and Healthy Homes
- 678 households assisted through the Maryland Energy Assistance Program (MEAP)
- $61,304 distributed through SMO Cares and MEAP
- 16 households provided with heating equipment through SMO Cares
In 2017, the Wills Group donated $455,876, which provided support for 36 charitable organizations and 42 grants in the communities where it operates. The Wills Group also organized the inaugural Blackie Wills Golf Classic & Gala in 2017, with more than $500,000 raised to support The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund. The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund honors Julian Blacklock “Blackie” Wills, the third President and CEO of the Wills Group, and carries on his commitment to community and civic engagement.
Learn more about the Wills Group’s commitment to community engagement by reading the full report on the Wills Group website at willsgroup.com/community.
About the Wills Group, Inc.
Headquartered in La Plata, Maryland, the Wills Group has nearly 300 retail locations across the Mid-Atlantic region, including Dash In, Splash In ECO Car Wash, and SMO Motor Fuels. A family-owned company since 1926 with expertise in convenience retailing, fuels marketing, and commercial real estate, the Wills Group prides itself on keeping customers’, employees’, and communities’ Lives in Motion.
