Beginning next week, you may see an increased police presence throughout the Kwik Trip stores of Wisconsin. But don’t worry, it’s a good thing. Actually, a great thing.
November 10 kicks off the Kwik Trip icon sales campaign for Special Olympics Wisconsin. During this week-long campaign, Kwik Trip customers will have the opportunity to purchase SOWI icons for $1 at checkout. Members of law enforcement will also be making frequent stops into the stores to purchase icons, greet customers alongside SOWI athletes to encourage icon purchases, or even set up tables to sell icons themselves.
This partnership has meant a great deal to lots of folks for some time now. Kwik Trip has been a mission partner with Special Olympics Wisconsin for more than 15 years, during which time they have cultivated a fantastic relationship with the Special Olympics Wisconsin community.
“As an athlete and Kwik Trip employee, I’m really grateful for this partnership. I see first-hand how much good comes out of this campaign and Kwik Trip’s support of Special Olympics Wisconsin’s mission.” – SOWI athlete and Kwik Trip employee David Thompson.
This has especially been the case with the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Wisconsin, which consists of the law enforcement personnel around the state who raise funds and participate in advocacy on behalf of Special Olympics Wisconsin.
Members of law enforcement and Kwik Trip employees team up for a photo during the 2016 campaign
“Those of us in the law enforcement community around here always look forward to this time of year. This is always a fun campaign and we love that we get to work closely with Kwik Trip employees and Special Olympics athletes,” said Lieutenant Mark Horstmann of the Verona Police Department, who serves as the Law Enforcement State Director in Wisconsin. “In fact, sometimes they’re one and the same. Kwik Trip really does a fantastic job of modeling inclusion by employing individuals with intellectual disabilities, some of whom are Special Olympics athletes.”
To make the relationship even more fun, every year many Kwik Trip employees brave the icy waters of Wisconsin by participating in the annual Polar Plunge on Kwik Trip teams across the state. Kwik Trip employees also do a tremendous job promoting the icon sales in their stores in fun and creative ways.
Thanks to that commitment to the icon sales and SOWI mission, last year was a record-breaking year for the campaign. Together, Kwik Trip and SOWI raised $185,834! On average, it costs $552 to support one athlete for a year. That means that Kwik Trip, the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Wisconsin, and Kwik Trip customers helped 336 athletes compete for a year!
David Thompson of Oregon, Wisconsin is one of those athletes who is supported by the likes of Kwik Trip’s icon sales campaign. He also gets to see the campaign in action as an employee of Kwik Trip.
2018 Team Wisconsin athlete and Kwik Trip employee David Thompson
“As an athlete and Kwik Trip employee, I’m really grateful for this partnership. I see first-hand how much good comes out of this campaign and Kwik Trip’s support of Special Olympics Wisconsin’s mission,” Thompson said. Thompson will get to experience the joy and thrill of Special Olympics competition at just about the highest level next year when he participates in bowling as a member of Team Wisconsin during the 2018 USA Games in Seattle.
On behalf of David Thompson and the 10,000+ other athletes throughout Wisconsin, we sincerely thank Kwik Trip for their continued support of SOWI. Here’s to another great icon sales campaign in 2017!
