Toolkit offers help to c-stores in becoming more engaged with the communities they serve.
C-store retailers make a difference in their communities and now there’s a toolkit to help them take their partnerships to the next level and let the community know about their efforts.
The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) has published a new “Community Toolkit” that provides ideas and examples of numerous community-focused areas that retailers of all sizes can implement. It is the fourth toolkit that has been developed as part of the NACS reFresh initiative to help retailers tell their positive stories in their communities.
The online, interactive toolkit provides examples of how retailers are making a difference in their communities by giving back to local community-focused groups, supporting local or national groups making a difference in communities or my offering more local products to customers. It includes dozens of links to groups already partnering with convenience stores, as well as examples of how stores are succeeding with these partnerships.
“From sponsoring youth sports teams to conducting food drives, convenience stores strengthen the communities that they serve, contributing nearly $1 billion a year to charitable and community groups. And being a good neighbor is not just a good business practice. Your efforts will position your company and employees as champions for the community and will resonate within the community. This toolkit is designed to give retailers examples of how they can get more engaged — and tell their stories within their communities,” said NACS Director of Strategic Initiatives Carolyn Schnare.
NACS has previously published the “Site Approval Toolkit” to provide strategies for retailers seeking zoning approvals, a Public Relations Toolkit” to provide resources for enhancing a company’s business and “How Stores Work,” a toolkit that provides data around more than a dozen convenience store issues related to how they serve their communities. All of these resources are available at www.nacsonline.com/refresh.
NACS also recorded a podcast on the community toolkit that will go live on March 27 at www.nacsonline.com/podcasts.
The online toolkit will continuously be updated with new examples. Please contact Schnare at [email protected] to suggest additional resources.