Our Purpose

The Wawa Foundation is committed to
Building Strong Communities

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  • Health

    Championing life-saving research and care for people in need

  • Hunger

    Leading hunger relief efforts

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  • Heroes

    Supporting the heroes making a difference every day

Together, we’ve made a difference! View The Wawa Foundation’s Annual Giving.

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Our Story


From the very start, when Grahame Wood opened the first Wawa store in 1964, he had a vision for a new kind of place that not only served customers, but gave back to its community. The company began finding ways Wawa could help the community that were extensions of what Wawa did naturally—helping care for neighbors, providing nutritious food and always being reliable and accessible.

In 2014, on Wawa’s 50th anniversary, that same legacy of giving was formalized and amplified with the establishment of The Wawa Foundation. Today, with the support of hundreds of partners and millions of customers and associates, Grahame’s initial commitment to building stronger communities continues across the same three areas that reflect Wawa’s history and purpose—championing life-saving research and care for people in need, leading hunger-relief efforts and supporting the heroes making a difference every day.