Cause Marketing/ Community Programs

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Leading firearms retailer Gander Mountain will open the state’s first dedicated Gander Mtn. Firearms Super Center in Rogers, Minn., by the end of April. It will be the retailer’s 12th store in the state.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General will benefit a nonprofit outreach program focused on blood clots, the discount store chain said.

Dollar General announced it would match the $2,000 donation that NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Brian Vickers made to Clot Connect. Vickers was diagnosed in early 2010 with blood clots that forced him to miss the remainder of the season and worked with University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill physicians and Clot Connect to make informed decisions on his healthcare.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — As the six month anniversary of Hurricane Sandy approaches, online grocery service Peapod is teaming up with Family-to-Family, Inc. to launch a 90-day campaign to restock the kitchen cupboards of families still struggling from the effects of the storm.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. will renovate libraries at more than two dozen schools in need across the country this year under a program that will also include book donations and technology upgrades, as well as the option to have a Target-supported food pantry built, the mass merchandise retailer said Wednesday.

SHELTON, Conn. — Hawaiian Tropic has retired its Miss Hawaiian Tropic Bikini Contests and is looking for a woman who will serve as the "new face" of the brand, which is owned by Energizer Personal Care, a division of Energizer Holdings.

The brand, which has introduced new formulas and packaging, is launching the contest through Facebook, and the winner will become its new spokeswoman. The contest takes place from May 6 through May 31.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Wrangler has drafted New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees to endorse its denim brand.

One of the most decorated and respected quarterbacks in the NFL, Brees joins Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brett Favre as brand ambassadors. He will be featured in upcoming marketing campaigns, scheduled to launch in August.

CINCINNATI — Tide will get in on the 2013 NFL Draft action by offering an endorsement deal to the first player drafted to each of the 32 NFL teams, in celebration of their new colors. 

Tide will also reward fans with a gift delivered via Twitter by each of the contracted rookies during the first and second rounds of the draft. The rookies will also ask the fans to share what team colors mean to them by tweeting out using hashtag #AboutOurColors.

Bentonville, Ark. -- For the first time in the retailer’s history, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said that, through Walmart and the Walmart Foundation, it has given more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions.

The Monday announcement makes Walmart the first U.S. retailer to achieve the $1 billion in giving mark, up from $872.7 million last year. The growth in global giving was largely due to increased in-kind donations in the U.S. to local food banks and families impacted by disasters.