Sacramento, CA – On Wednesday, July 24, convenience stores and gas stations are celebrating hometown heroes and joining tens of thousands of convenience retailers and suppliers across the United States to celebrate 24/7 Day. Participating convenience retailers will have various different 24/7 Day offers available to any first responder in uniform or wearing a badge – including police, fire, EMTs, doctors, nurses, health practitioners, 911 professionals, and Red Cross volunteers – to thank them for all they do to ensure people don’t face emergencies alone.

Held on July 24 each year, 24/7 Day was created to highlight the partnership between first responders and convenience stores. Hosted by the NACS Foundation, the event also helps raise awareness and donations for the Red Cross and spotlights the convenience and fuel retailing industry’s important role in supporting emergencies, disaster relief, and crisis situations, 24/7/365.

In addition to convenience retailer's 24/7 Day offer, in support of this year’s 24/7 Day, we are encouraging community members to take part by sharing stories and appreciation for hometown heroes on social media using the hashtag #247Day.

Convenience stores are community stores: 93% of Americans live within 10 minutes of a convenience store. There are 152,000-plus convenience stores in the United States, and cumulatively, the industry serves approximately 160 million customers per day, sells 80% of the fuel purchased in the country, and donates more than $1 billion a year to charitable causes.

In California, gas station convenience stores employ about 66,000 workers and indirectly support another 59,000 jobs in businesses that supply goods and services to fuel and convenience stores and their employees. Over 95 percent of these establishments are operated by small business owners, 40 percent of establishments are minority-owned, and nearly 60 percent of owners are first-generation, foreign-born immigrants – the highest of any industry in the U.S.

People are impacted by emergencies every day, including the communities that convenience stores and gas station convenience stores serve:

• On average, the Red Cross responds to an emergency every 8 minutes. From small house fires to multi-state national disasters, the American Red Cross goes where it’s needed so people can have clean water, safe shelter, and hot meals when they need them most.
• Every day, more than 21,000 people receive assistance from the Red Cross, whether they need lifesaving blood, relief after a disaster, support with the challenges of military life, skills that save lives, or international humanitarian aid.
• The Red Cross responds to an average of 65,000 disasters every year and 95% of its disaster relief workers are volunteers.
• Every Red Cross donation helps change lives, and an average of 90 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in delivering care and comfort to those in need

“We hope you will join us in supporting the heroes who are always here for us, helping others and giving so much of themselves in times of incredible need,” said Nathan Measom, Director of Cause Marketing for the American Red Cross. “Our continued partnership with the NACS Foundation is one of the most important ways we highlight the work done each year in communities across the United States, which is not often seen by the public. It’s our honor to shine a light on these heroes and thank them for their incredible effort.”

“The 24/7 Day celebration was born from the realization of the deep connection between first responders and the convenience store community,” said Stephanie Sikorski, Executive Director of the NACS Foundation. “We’ve heard too often that ‘nothing good happens after zero-dark-thirty,’ but our research shows that these small hours are when first responders and convenience stores unite across a range of efforts, from setting up for a disaster relief effort or simply getting a cup of coffee or healthy snack during a shift to keep energy high. We are proud to support these efforts, which keep our communities strong.”