Countdown to Wegmans: Community involvement here in the Triangle
Wegmans is not only known for their top-notch customer service, they are also very generous donors in the communities where they have stores.
The doors to the first North Carolina location have not even opened yet and Wegmans has already donated food to the local food bank and given away college scholarships to Raleigh high school students!
College Scholarships
In May 2019, ten graduating seniors from the Raleigh area received $500 scholarships from Wegmans Food Markets. The company has an Employee Scholarship Program, which helps employees who are in college and the Raleigh scholarships were announced just after the annual employee scholarship recipients were announced.
According to their release, "the local recipients are students from Broughton, Cardinal Gibbons, Enloe Magnet, Millbrook Magnet, and Sanderson high schools. Wegmans partnered with each school to select two students who exemplify the family-owned company’s values: caring, respect, high standards, empowerment, and making a difference."
Wegmans Raleigh Store Manager Hallie Johnston said, “We value making a difference in our community, and helping students succeed is one of our most important giving priorities. We’re happy to award honorary scholarships this year and we look forward to celebrating the first class of Wegmans Raleigh employee scholarship recipients in 2020.”
Over 1700 Wegmans employees were given scholarships this year, totaling approximately $5.1 million for the 2019/2020 academic year. See all the details about their scholarship program on their website.
This is one of the many reasons Wegmans was ranked #3 on FORTUNE magazine's 2019 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. They have actually been on the list every year since it began in 1998, and in 2005, they were ranked #1.
Food Bank Donations
In late August, Wegmans donated a truckload of food to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina with enough food to provide over 16,000 meals!
See a video of the truckload of donations on the Food Bank's Facebook page HERE.
According to the Corporate Relations Manager for the Food Bank, "They were the first company to donate water after Hurricane Florence, a full year before their store here opened. We are already doing store pick-ups 3 days a week and plan to partner with them on fundraising initiatives in the future."
According to the Wegmans website, they give back to the community with: "Exceptional levels of charitable donations focused on programs that reduce hunger; help young people succeed; promote healthy eating and activity; strengthen neighborhoods; and support United Way initiatives. Last year, Wegmans donated about 14.5 million pounds of food to local food banks and programs that feed the hungry."
Click HERE for the details about the Wegmans Grand Opening on Sunday, September 29.
