WAWA, Pa.—Today is Wawa Day, and in honor of its 58th anniversary in retail, Wawa will celebrate by offering customers free hot coffee of any size at all locations all day. Throughout the day, Wawa expects to give away more than two million free cups of coffee to customers at its more than 960 stores.
“We are thrilled to be able to bring back our traditional Wawa Day festivities to honor the millions of customers who have been such an integral part of our growth through the years. As we mark our 58th anniversary, we look forward to brightening the days of our customers, associates and communities with free coffee, special recognitions and vital resources, continuing our longstanding tradition of providing necessary support to our communities and National Partners during times of need,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa president and CEO. “Being there for our customers, associates and communities when they need us most remains one of our core commitments and one that we always seek to strengthen through new partnerships and possibilities. Happy Wawa Day, and cheers to 58 years of fulfilling lives, every day!”
In addition to free coffee, this year’s Wawa Day will include special events and celebrations that will pay tribute to Wawa’s rich history and culture:
“Day Brightener” Recognition for Customers: Associates from all 960-plus stores will honor one customer as their store’s official “Day Brightener” with special recognition to acknowledge the positivity they spread throughout their communities with the intent of inspiring others to do the same.
With a longstanding history of supporting its communities, especially in times of need, Wawa will donate a total of $1 million in gift cards to The Wawa Foundation’s National Partners and certain community partners, including American Red Cross, Check-Out Hunger, Children’s Miracle Network, JDRF, LLS, Special Olympics, USO and Meals on Wheels, to help them continue delivering much-needed services to their communities. Each organization will receive approximately $100,000 in gift cards in support of their fuel/food needs and family assistance programs.
Today, Wawa will unveil the limited time “Day Brightener” Popping Bubbles Passionfruit Lemonade beverage. This unique creation was developed by Wawa mixologists and includes Wawa’s signature lemonade with a fizzy passionfruit twist. Wawa will make a $25,000 contribution to Children’s Miracle Network.
In April 2014, Wawa celebrated its 50th anniversary with the launch of The Wawa Foundation, a 501c (3) non-profit organization founded to encompass most of Wawa's charitable giving. Since the Foundation’s inception, Wawa and The Wawa Foundation have donated almost $120 million in support of causes related to health, hunger and everyday heroes. As part of this year’s Wawa Day celebration, The Wawa Foundation will announce two contributions of $1 million each to two of its National Partners.
The Wawa Foundation will contribute $1 million to Check-Out Hunger to support Feeding America Food Banks operating in Wawa’s markets. Funds supporting Check-Out Hunger come from The Wawa Foundation’s in-store customer donation campaign.
The Wawa Foundation also will contribute $1 million to Special Olympics to support programs for thousands of athletes involved with Special Olympics in Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Funds supporting Special Olympics also come from The Wawa Foundation’s in-store customer donation campaign.
Wawa is one of the convenience retailers featured in the 2021 Ideas 2 Go video series, which made its debut at the 2021 NACS Show.