From the Tulsa World: 

QuikTrip gives $7.8 million gift to address homelessness, related challenges

Everyone knows QuikTrip. The convenience store chain is seemingly on every street corner in town. And with each passing year its national footprint grows, with more than 1,000 stores operating in 17 states.

What’s less well-known is the company’s philanthropic work. Those numbers are impressive, too, as evidenced by Thursday’s announcement that QuikTrip is donating $7.8 million to local service providers to fund programs aimed at making Tulsa safer, stronger and more stable.

“Creating a safe and welcoming experience at QuikTrip is one of our highest priorities for our customers and for our employees,” Lauren Sherry, QT’s community relations manager, said during a news conference. “It’s what our customers have come to love and expect.
“That’s why since our founding in 1958, right here in Tulsa, we give 5% of our net profits back into the communities in which our employees live and work.”

The $7.8 million will go to the Tulsa Area United Way, the Tulsa Day Center, Green Country Habitat for Humanity, Youth Services of Tulsa and other partner organizations in the city. The money will fund programs that address the root causes of homelessness and mitigate the effects of poverty.

“In the last few years cities across the country, including Tulsa, have experienced a rise in crime, addiction, mental health issues and homelessness,” Sherry said. “And like the rest of the retail community, our employees and customers … have been impacted by this trend.”

Alison Anthony, president and CEO of the Tulsa Area United Way, said she was grateful not only for the latest donation but for QuikTrip’s long history of contributing to the community. The $11 billion-plus company has 80 stores and 3,000 employees in the Tulsa area giving back.

“Last year alone, the store employees gave more than $700,000,” Anthony said. “You add to that that QuikTrip matches their employee contributions one to one, and it just makes for an incredible impact in the investments in our community.

“I will say that our records that go back 25 years show that QuikTrip and their employees have given more than $40 million to this United Way to fund education, health and safety, to help grow livelihoods, to help people find housing.”

Phil Lakin, CEO of the Tulsa Community Foundation and a Tulsa city councilor, said he met Chet Cadieux, QuikTrip’s CEO, back in the fifth grade when they took bus 28 to school in Jenks. All these years later, QuikTrip is one of the largest donors to the Community Foundation, Lakin said.

“I don’t go to QuikTrip just because of the the chips. … I go because of what QuikTrip has done in this community for us,” Lakin said.

He described the company as a “deeply generous corporation” that has given hundreds of millions of dollars back to the community.

“And beyond that, it’s the legion of employees who are deeply generous, as well, and it’s not just the employees; it’s the retirees, as well, who continue to give over and over again, not just philanthropically, not just with their dollars, but with their time and other resources, as well,” Lakin said.

Thursday’s donation announcement was one of several QuikTrip has made in the past few months in cities across the country. Those donations include more than $7 million in Atlanta, approximately $3 million in Phoenix and more than $3 million in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Sherry said the No. 1 reason for making the announcements is to ensure that QuikTrip’s employees nationwide know what the company is doing to keep them safe and supported. The other primary reason, she said, is that historically the company hasn’t talked much about its philanthropic efforts.

“We’re really trying to change that narrative, because we want the public and our employees to know that we care about our employees,” Sherry said, “and we’re doing a lot. … We’re talking about it in the hope that other partners might come along, too, other corporations and foundations, and really support those that are doing all this good work.”

Mayor G.T. Bynum praised QuikTrip for its work in the city and noted that the company does not give money away to score “political points” but to make a difference.

“They’re engaged in the details,” Bynum said. “This isn’t just about writing checks. They’re engaged in evaluating every opportunity that’s out there.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Anthony, the United Way CEO.
“They didn’t come forward and say, ‘We read about this solution,’” she said. “‘This is what we’re going to do.’ They went out and they asked the people who not only deliver services but they asked the people who are receiving the services, ‘What would truly be helpful?’ and that was so meaningful and moving to me.”