The Wills Group, a family-owned company headquartered in La Plata, Maryland, announced that it raised more than $200,000 at its fifth annual Blackie Wills Golf Classic event in support of the Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund. The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund is a component of the Wills Group’s community engagement efforts which are focused on helping to end childhood hunger and enhance outdoor spaces in local communities across the Mid-Atlantic region.

Since March 2020, the Wills Group has donated more than $1 million through the Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund to support regional and local food banks and nonprofit organizations as they collectively work together to address increased hunger and food insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funds raised at this year’s Blackie Wills Golf Classic event will also help to support the Wills Group’s two community engagement pillars – Ending Childhood Hunger and Enhancing Outdoor Spaces. Both initiatives are part of the Wills Group’s ongoing commitment to work in partnership with local charitable organizations across the Mid-Atlantic region to help address food insecurity and enhance and improve outdoor community spaces.

Enhancing Outdoor Spaces is a new community engagement initiative created by the Wills Group and its Dash In convenience store brand to ensure communities have access to vibrant and welcoming spaces in which to play and connect. As part of the Enhancing Outdoor Spaces initiative, the Wills Group and Dash In will work with local communities to transform outdoor spaces valued by communities such as parks, libraries, and community gardens.

“COVID-19 continues to have a significant and ongoing impact on our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Julian B. (Blackie) Wills, III, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Wills Group. “As a result, this past year, the Wills Group significantly increased our support of families in need. However, we know that we can do more. As a result of the support of everyone who participated in this year’s Blackie Wills Golf Classic – we can.”

This year’s Blackie Wills Golf Classic took place at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, Maryland on Monday, September 13. To ensure the health and well-being of guests, all activities followed the health and safety guidelines of the Howard County Department of Health, which were informed by guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Maryland Department of Health.

For more information about the Wills Group’s community engagement efforts, visit willsgroup.com/community.

About Wills Group, Inc.

Headquartered in La Plata, Maryland, the Wills Group has nearly 300 retail locations across the Mid-Atlantic region, including Dash In, Splash In ECO Car Wash, and SMO Motor Fuels. A family-owned company since 1926 with expertise in convenience retailing, fuels marketing, and commercial real estate, the Wills Group prides itself on keeping customers, employees, and communities’ Lives in Motion. For more information about the Wills Group, visit willsgroup.com.

About The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund

The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund was created in remembrance of the Wills Group President Julian Blacklock “Blackie” Wills and his commitment to giving back to local communities. Carrying on this tradition at the Wills Group, the Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund actively reinvests in the community in order to help keep Lives in Motion and ensure people in need have opportunities to achieve their hopes and dreams. The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund (BWCLF) is a component fund within Chesapeake Charities, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Chesapeake Charities financial statement is available on their website, chesapeakecharities.org, at their office located at 101 Log Canoe Circle, Suite 0, Stevensville, MD 21666, or through the Secretary of State, Charitable Division, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401.