WAWA, Pa., July 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of its 12th year as title sponsor of Wawa Welcome America!, Wawa is celebrating our nation’s birthday with a variety of events that focus on honoring our everyday heroes in its hometown of Philadelphia, PA and across its entire chain of 900+ stores. Festivities include:
Wawa Hoagie Day: July 1
Historic Philadelphia Local Celebration
Wawa Hoagie Day is back with an in-person event in Wawa’s hometown of Philadelphia, PA to salute our everyday heroes! The inaugural Hoagie Day was held in 1992, when the hoagie was proclaimed the “Official Sandwich of Philadelphia” by then-Mayor Ed Rendell. This year’s Hoagie Day will include a distribution of a four-ton hoagie free to the community; hoagie donations to Philabundance, Police Athletic League of Philadelphia, and the Veteran’s Multi-Service Center; a charitable Hoagies for Heroes hoagie-building competition; and so much more.
As always, a highlight of the event will be the Four-Ton Hoagie Salute, named in honor of our hometown heroes – military service men and women, firefighters, and police officers. On July 1 beginning at 12 p.m., the four-ton hoagie will be served to the crowd, free of charge inside the National Constitution Center. WMMR’s Preston Elliott, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, members of the USO, Wawa associates, and thousands of Wawa fans and hoagie lovers from around the region will also be in attendance. Admission to the National Constitution Center is FREE all day courtesy of Wawa. During the Hoagie Day event, Wawa VP of Strategy Alex Costabile will also announce and present a $80,000 donation from The Wawa Foundation to longstanding partners at the USO in honor of their 80th anniversary of supporting programs that keep military members connected to their country and family.
Chainwide Celebrations at All Wawa Stores
In addition to the local celebration in Philadelphia, all 929 Wawa stores across six states – Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida – and Washington, D.C., will each build 50 hoagies to donate to local healthcare heroes, first responders and community food banks. With the local and chainwide celebration, Wawa will donate a combined 60,000 hoagies in honor of Wawa Hoagie Day!
The Wawa Foundation Hero Award Presentation: July 4
This year marks The Wawa Foundation’s sixth-annual Wawa Foundation Hero Award, an honor given to a non-profit organization serving the greater Philadelphia area that helps to advance our local communities by assisting others and building stronger communities through preserving our independence, protecting our safety and mentoring and inspiring our youth.
The four finalists are:
1) ABC Men
2) The Garces Foundation
3) Philadelphia Police Athletic League
4) The Veterans Group
The winner will be chosen by public vote on The Wawa Foundation’s website. The Wawa Foundation Hero Award will be presented on July 4 in front of Independence Hall and first announced on NBC10 right before the July 4th televised concert. The recipient of The Wawa Foundation Hero Award will receive a $50,000 grant and the three runners up will each receive $10,000 grants.
“Our Wawa Welcome America! Festival has always been built around activities and events that celebrate our everyday heroes, so we’re excited that this year’s Wawa Welcome America Festival will focus on so many organizations that serve our communities and our country,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa President & CEO. “Happy July 4th everyone, and thanks to our everyday heroes for all you do every day.”
About Wawa, Inc.
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.
About Welcome America, Inc.
Welcome America, Inc. is a 501c3, non-profit organization engaged in a public-private partnership with the City of Philadelphia. Welcome America, Inc.’s goal is to promote American history, education, and the City of Philadelphia as global tourist destination. Each year, Welcome America, Inc. produces Wawa Welcome America, a multi-day festival featuring art, culture, community engagement and entertainment - it is the nation's premier Independence Day celebration!
Contact: Public.relations@wawa.com