How does 24/7 Day benefit our communities—and our industry?

The NACS Foundation’s 24/7 Day initiative began six years ago. We walked through different ways that we can better support each other as an industry and what we could do better for the communities we serve. We knew that historically, it has been written in the news that nothing good happens after ‘zero dark thirty.’

Instead of chasing down and reacting to those headlines, we decided to lean into them. What if we took it upon ourselves to help change that narrative for our industry?

We all know that first responders work around the clock. You’ve got police, firefighters, medical personnel, 911 dispatchers and emergency professionals and more. When Covid happened, we talked about the doctors, nurses and paramedics, and how at two o’clock in the morning, convenience stores might be the only place that’s open for them as they either start their shift or end it.

Natural disasters—and disasters, period—happen all across the United States. A lot of the time, our stores are the first place people go to when coming back to a community or the last place people stop to fill up, hit the ATM or grab a bottle of water as they’re leaving harm’s way. In fact, many times convenience stores are the only places that are open.

So, 24/7 Day leans into the idea that convenience stores are the unspoken first supporters of first responders. That’s a pretty powerful story to tell and we wanted to share it loudly.

Participation can be as small as promoting a cup of coffee that you’re already giving to first responders. It could be a check donation to the American Red Cross, or other hyper-local response relief charity. It could be a hot food offer. It might be giving lunches to a local fire station. Saying thanks can come in a lot of different formats.

We truly try to make this as plug-and-play as possible so that operators of all sizes can participate in whatever way is authentic to them, their brand and their communities. The support from the supplier community is also very strong. In six short years, this event has brought together thousands of people from across the c-store ecosystem in a way we never anticipated.

I love to see the stories where the police, firefighters, 911 professionals and disaster response volunteers are saying ‘Thanks so much’ to fill-in-the-blank store. What I hear from them is “I feel seen” or “thank you for seeing me.” It’s powerful to see those first responders that are coming right back to thank the convenience store operators and their teams.

The other thing that we didn’t think about necessarily was the response that retailers are seeing from their employees, who appreciate being part of this. We’re all human, right? We all want to work for companies that have heart and do good things. And an act of kindness doesn’t have to cost a lot. Sometimes it’s just as easy as saying ‘thanks.’