The Morris Arboretum has received a first-time grant from Wawa in support of its active-duty military free admission program.

The $15,000 Wawa grant supports the program, which provides free general admission to Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard active duty and reservists, National Guard members (regardless of status), U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and up to five family members.

The arboretum began offering free admission to active military members in 2019, inspired by the story of a longtime visitor who found solace and healing in the gardens after returning from military service during the Cold War.

“Morris Arboretum has long been a place for people to replenish themselves physically and mentally,” said William Cullina, the F. Otto Haas Executive Director of Morris Arboretum. “Our active-duty free admission program is our way of saying thank you and to provide comfort in a beautiful setting to those who give so much for our country. The arboretum is proud of this program and grateful for Wawa’s support.”

“Wawa is committed to building stronger communities in three focus areas of health, hunger and everyday heroes, with a long history of honoring service members—from its annual Hoagie Day tradition of serving 30,000 hoagies in honor of those who serve, to its in-store fundraising campaign benefiting USO, to its signature Hoagies for Heroes hoagie-building competition at new store openings to honor everyday heroes,” said Jay Culotta, president of the Wawa Foundation. “We’re delighted to build on this support by providing free admission to Morris Arboretum and hope it provides a tranquil experience and lets service members know how much we value their commitment to our country.”

To qualify for the program, service members simply need to show a valid military ID, a Geneva Convention Common Access Card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card at the entrance kiosk. This program does not include ticketed and promotional events at the arboretum.

Wawa formally presented the grant to Morris Arboretum at the grand opening of its newest store in Glenside, Pennsylvania, on December 15, 2022.