Rooted in a philosophy of Love Thy Neighbor, Lassus Bros. Oil has built a culture where community impact is ingrained in daily operations, leadership priorities and store-level execution.
The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based c-store chain has led several large-scale and community-driven fundraising efforts over the last year that directly support local organizations and families.
Additionally, the chain activates the entire organization to serve, offering team members across its 35 stores paid time to go into the community and volunteer.
For its strong pursuit of philanthropy across its entire organization over the past year, CStore Decisions is recognizing Lassus Bros. with a Philanthropy and Community Engagement Award.
Love Thy Neighbor
Recently, Lassus Bros. turned 100 years old, and in celebration of the milestone, the chain hosted a charity golf outing benefitting Erin’s House for Grieving Children. The fundraiser generated $64,000 to support children and families navigating loss.
Additionally, the chain holds two in-store fundraisers, one in spring and one in fall. Typically, it partners with an organization for three to five years, and it just completed its spring fundraiser for its third year of partnership with the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo.
“We like to be able to share the love across more than just the same organization,” said Brittany Wilchar, director of sales and marketing for Lassus Bros. Oil.
In spring of 2025, Lassus raised $80,000 for the “Zoo for All” program through customer donations and roundups.
This past fall, during its Love Thy Neighbor campaign, the chain generated $62,172 in donations, $34,471 of which went to Blessings in a Backpack and $27,701 of which supported other local and regional charities.
Blessings in a Backpack fills goodie bags for students in the Fort Wayne area that they take home with them on weekends to help combat childhood hunger. With Lassus Bros.’ funds, the organization added an additional elementary school to its program.
“For these fundraisers, it’s just an ask at the register, and it’s really our community who’s participating by either rounding up to the nearest dollar, donating $1, $5, however much, and the community is very responsive, and it’s all thanks to them. They’ve really partnered with us in these efforts,” said Wilchar.
Lassus Bros. is committed to creating meaningful, lasting impact and investing in the well-being of its communities.
The Lassus Foundation
Lassus Bros. operates with a sustained, year-round commitment to philanthropy. The Lassus Foundation was established as a means to invest the chain’s profits back into the community.
At the end of every year, the foundation board meets to review all applications for funding through the foundation. Organizations can apply for funding on Lassus’ website at any time throughout the year.
“If there are immediate needs for funding, we do pass those needs down for consideration for these fall and spring roundup campaigns, and then our stores also have a budget set aside every year where they can support charities close to their heart. … That’s also for little league programs, (etc.) and whatever they want to invest their money back into. So, sometimes there may be an organization who applies for help through the foundation, but we see that the need is more immediate than waiting until year’s end, and in that case, we have other methods to support them,” said Wilchar.
Through the Lassus Foundation and in-store fundraising initiatives, the chain contributes over $100,000 annually to over 75 local charities. Employees are also empowered to reinvest directly into their own communities through sponsorships, school programs and local events.
Serve Days
Lassus Bros. sponsors three to four serve days per year where team members are paid for their hours serving. An example of how employees have spent these days is volunteering with local Junior Achievement programs, such as 3DE.
“(3DE is) a really cool new educational model in Fort Wayne Community Schools. As a part of the 3DE program, students in our Fort Wayne Community Schools high schools work on a Lassus case challenge throughout the year, and then in the fall, we get to send a team of Lassus team members to the schools to help coach the students on their case challenge. They spend a full day in one of the high schools talking to hundreds of high school students, coaching them through how they can connect their work to what they’re really going to experience in the workforce,” said Wilchar.
Another example was volunteering for A Mother’s Hope, an organization that runs a home for homeless mothers who are expecting. Team members have completed household projects here, such as cleaning out sheds and setting up for events.
“There’s been a lot of moments seeing our team members really get invested in these programs. They get really excited about selecting organizations close to their hearts to donate their store funds to and to also go serve in person. That is always a highlight to us here, because that’s the whole point of it,” said Wilchar.
Lassus Bros. gives two awards to recognize employees for their efforts. The Love Thy Neighbor Award is an internal, peer-nominated award where team members recognize coworkers who go above and beyond in serving their communities. Each quarter, one recipient is selected and receives a wellness package as a small way to encourage them to take time for themselves. The Jon F. Lassus Legacy Award is presented annually to one team member who best exemplifies the mission to Love Thy Neighbor.
“Our mission is to Love Thy Neighbor, so when you see the team so connected, we know that it’s working. We’re spreading the word to love thy neighbor and to invest in the communities we serve, and it’s just really wholesome to see our mission in action,” Wilchar continued.
