Wawa Donates 3,000 Appreciation Kits to the Fund for Philadelphia School District to Distribute to Essential Employees on the One Year Anniversary of the Pandemic as a Thank You for Ongoing Service

Wawa and The Fund for Philadelphia School District are reflecting on the one year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic by recognizing over 3,000 essential employees who have remained onsite to provide food and support to students and families in need.

The School District of Philadelphia and The Fund for The School District of Philadelphia recognized how hard the support staff has worked this past year and wanted to acknowledge their ongoing efforts from day one of the pandemic with a small gesture of appreciation and gift to show gratitude.by purchasing Wawa gift cards. As a company dedicated to serving the community with essential services as well, Wawa donated 3,000 of the appreciation kits as the company’s way of supporting one of the largest public-school systems in its hometown and recognizing the worker’s dedication to continuing important community support. The Fund for The School District of Philadelphia has purchased an additional 1,335 Appreciation Kits for additional faculty members for a total of 4,335 kits distributed.

“When the pandemic first hit, one of our main concerns was ensuring how our students who rely on the District for access to healthy, nutritious meals could be supported if they weren’t able to come to school each day,” said William R. Hite, Jr., Ed.D., superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia. “Our Food Services Team truly became our essential workers, diligently working to seamlessly support our students and families by coordinating meal distributions at school sites across the City of Philadelphia. And, I’m pleased to say that, since March 2020, this group of hardworking individuals reported to work each week and the results of their time and energy allowed for the District to distribute more than eight million meals to students.”

“As an essential business, Wawa understands firsthand the importance of remaining open to serve the community during times of need and are honored to help Dr. Hite, The School District of Philadelphia and The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia recognize these essential employees who showed such an ongoing commitment to serving students and families throughout the pandemic,” said David Simonetti, Senior Director of Store Operations, Wawa. “It gives us great pride to support this effort and we hope this small gesture of gifting an appreciation kit brightens the days of essential workers whose support meant so much to the community.”