SAVANNAH, Ga.—Parker’s, the 66-store convenience chain serving Georgia and South Carolina, has formed the The Parker’s Community Fund with an initial donation of $20 million, reports SavannahNow.com. The fund will be administered through the Savannah Community Foundation, an umbrella philanthropic organization.
Parker’s Community Fund will support a range of charitable causes across the region. A committee is being formed to make decisions about allocating the funds strategically to make the biggest impact.
“We had an extraordinary year at Parker's in 2020, and we know that a lot of people have been suffering due to the pandemic. It seemed like an ideal time to step up our charitable giving and to give back to help people in need,” said Greg Parker, founder and CEO, Parker’s. “We have a deep commitment to giving back to the community and a strong desire to support the customers who have been so loyal to us over the past 45 years.”
The Savannah Community Foundation was created in 1956 as a sister corporation to the local United Way and reorganized in 1986 as a community foundation. The organization allows those with charitable intentions the opportunity to carry out those intentions without having to establish their own nonprofit. The Community Foundation has created more than 200 charitable funds and made $30 million in contributions to the community through its patrons since 1986. Parker’s contribution is the largest single donation to the Community Foundation in its 65-year history.
“We’re incredibly honored that Parker’s selected the Savannah Community Foundation to manage this donor-advised fund,” said Russ Simpson, president, Savannah Community Foundation. “It will be exciting to see how this fund will support so many organizations in Georgia and South Carolina.”
Parker’s is no stranger to community support. In recent years, Parker’s endowed the Parker’s Emergency and Trauma Center at Memorial Hospital and made a record $5 million donation to the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University. The company’s Fueling the Community program provides support in every community Parker’s serves. Funds come from a percentage of the gas sold at all Parker’s locations on the first Wednesday of the month.
Parker said the company plans a “round-up campaign” to benefit charitable initiatives, giving customers the option to round-up their transactions to support local causes. “We intend to donate additional funds and to partner with our customers, our suppliers and other organizations throughout the community to support positive change for many years to come,” he said.