Daily News

Pride Stores Launch Campaign to Support Square One

SPRINGFIELD — First there were dice. Then came Wendy’s hamburgers, followed by Rubik’s Cube and SpongeBob. Now, Bob Bolduc and his team at Pride Stores want to add Square One to the list of famous ‘squares.’

The locally owned chain of gas stations and convenience stores is launching a campaign where customers may purchase a square for one dollar, in support of the work that Square One does with children and families throughout the region.

“We are proud to be supporting the programs and services that Square One offers to ensure that children and families have the tools they need to be successful,” Bolduc said. “Selling squares and displaying them in our stores will be a very visible way to help raise funds for the organization and create greater awareness of the work they are doing.”

The squares are available for purchase at the checkout registers of participating Pride locations. For every dollar donated, Pride will display a Square One square in the Pride location of purchase. All proceeds will benefit Square One’s early-learning and family-services initiatives.

“We are so grateful to Bob and his team at Pride for all their very generous support of our work,” said Kristine Allard, chief Development and Communications officer for Square One. “Whether we are teaching children to read and write, inspiring an appreciation of fine arts, providing a nourishing meal, or developing a healthy love of play, everything we do is driven by our vision of a bright future for all children, despite the daunting challenges they face at home.”

She added that many children in Square One programs are living in homeless shelters, struggle with food insecurity, have a parent who is in addiction recovery or post-incarcerated, or are in custody of an appointed legal guardian or foster parent. “Support from Pride and other businesses is critical to our ability to continue to serve these families.”