Wawa hosted its first-ever virtual Hoagie Day Event on July 1 as part of this year’s entirely virtual and free Welcome America Celebration.
This year’s Hoagie Day expanded beyond Philadelphia through a mix of virtual and in-person events designed to honor local heroes while continuing Wawa’s tradition of giving back. For the first time in its 28-year history, Hoagie Day featured participation from all 900 Wawa stores.
Built by associates across Wawa’s six-state operating area and Washington DC, more than 45,000 hoagies were donated to local community heroes and organizations, first responders, healthcare heroes and facilities, and veterans’ associations.
Throughout the day, all communities were invited to join in and participate in Hoagie Day virtually through a special Hoagie Day video showcasing Wawa’s company-wide hoagie build, as well as heartfelt delivery drop-offs and receptions by local first responders, frontline healthcare workers, volunteers and veterans
“Hoagie Day is an annual Wawa tradition that all of us look forward to with great anticipation, and while this year may be a little different, we can’t wait to celebrate and expand on this event in new and exciting ways,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa president and CEO. “This year, we couldn’t be more excited to recognize our local heroes, help fight hunger, and celebrate our tradition of giving back and bringing customers together through digital formats. As we enter our 11th year as title sponsor for Wawa Welcome America and our 28th year celebrating Hoagie Day, we are honored to help bring this one-of-a-kind celebration into all of our customers’ communities.”
At 11:45 a.m. on July 1, 2020, Wawa released a special Wawa Hoagie Day video on NBC 10’s Philly Live show, followed by a mass distribution on WelcomeAmerica.com and Wawa social media channels showcasing highlights of the day. The video includes:
- Hoagie Build Highlights: Associates in all 900 Wawa stores building 45,000 hoagies to donate to local community heroes and organizations.
- Delivery Magic: The visual footage captured heartfelt deliveries of food drop offs to hundreds of local community partners and charities, including first responders, Philabundance and the USO.
Each year, Hoagie Day supports Wawa’s longstanding partnership with the USO, a nonprofit organization that strengthens America’s military service members by keeping them connected to family, home and country, throughout their service to the nation.
Through Campaign to Connect, customers can help reach a goal to send two million messages of support to deployed service members. By logging on to the site, customers can select their personalized message and send their thanks and appreciation to a deserving service person.
In addition to Campaign to Connect, from July 1-19, Wawa customers can donate to The Wawa Foundation at any Wawa store to benefit the USO’s programs and services in support of military personnel and their families. Beginning July 1, Hoagie Day, The Wawa Foundation is matching all donations made to the in-store scan campaign up to $50,000. This adds to the more than $1 million for local USO programs Wawa customers and associates raised in 2019.
In addition, on Hoagie Day, hundreds of hoagies were distributed by the USO to military bases throughout Wawa’s service area, to service men and women and their families through “drive by” donation pickup locations on the bases.
Hoagie Day also continues Wawa’s longstanding tradition of supporting those in need by distributing thousands of hoagies and meals to Philabundance, PAL and Veteran’s Multi Service Center (VMC).
This year, Wawa provided more than 4,500 bagged lunches and hoagies to Philabundance, more than 1,000 lunches for distribution to local Police Athletic League of Philadelphia Centers, and more than 500 meals to VMC, a nonprofit organization aiming to provide services, programs, opportunity and advancement to Veterans of the U.S. military and their families.
Wawa Inc., a privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Today, Wawa operates more than 840 convenience retail stores (over 600 offering fuel), 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.