Donations from Kangaroo Express store guests to benefit the USO, Wounded Warrior Project and other military support organizations.
Cary, N.C.-based The Pantry Inc. announced $2.5 million has been raised by its “Salute Our Troops” campaign, more than double its original goal of $1 million.
Through The Pantry’s more than 1,600 Kangaroo Express stores across 13 states, store guests and communities enthusiastically demonstrated united support for military personnel and their families. Half of the donations will support the USO, making Salute Our Troops one of the largest donations to the USO in a single fundraising campaign during its 70 years of delivering programs, entertainment and other services to the military. The remaining donations support Wounded Warrior Project, honoring and empowering injured servicemen and women, and five state-based military support organizations.
“Kangaroo Express guests and associates answered the call this summer, in a resounding testament to the pride and gratitude of Americans, to show support for our Armed Forces and their families,” said John Fisher, senior vice president of The Pantry. “This overwhelming donation is a great demonstration to what Americans can achieve when working together on one common goal. This unifying campaign brought together our sponsors, employees and store guests to salute our troops and their families through these outstanding military support organizations.”
Military personnel, veterans, sponsors, employees, store guests and their families were invited to attend the Salute Our Troops check presentation on Sept. 15 in Cary, N.C. More than 700 attended to celebrate the culmination of this summer-long campaign.
From Memorial Day to Labor Day, Kangaroo Express, along with Salute Our Troops presenting sponsor PepsiCo, invited store guests to make $1 donations toward its $1 million goal. That goal was achieved in just the first five weeks of the campaign on Independence Day weekend.
As part of the campaign, the USO Salute Our Troops Jeep Tour traveled more than 13,500 miles throughout eight states, honoring local military heroes and families in more than 75 local communities along the route.
Customers added their own voice of gratitude with “shout outs” of pride and appreciation by posting photos on the Kangaroo Express Facebook page and filming video salutes with the USO Jeep Crew. More than 3,000 “shout outs” are showcased on the Salute Our Troops Website at www.KESalute.com.
Among the other brands and companies that supported the Salute Our Troops campaign are Monster, Kronik, Oh Yeah!, Celsius, Activate, McLane, Real Tree, Red Bull, Lance, SNAPPLE, General Mills, KRAFT, Jackson Lewis, Borden Dairy Co., Nestle Waters, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Wilbur-Curtis, ECOLAB, Gilbarco, Jones-Frank, GSP Marketing Technologies and Lonesource.