Marathon Petroleum Grant Funds Health Fair for Families in Salt Lake City

Underserved children who live in areas near Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s (MPC) Salt Lake City refinery are benefiting from a $40,000 MPC grant to provide basic necessities. Approximately 250 pre-K through third grade children and their families attended a recent health fair, which was the first of two events MPC’s grant will fund this year.

At the fair, children received new shoes supplied by Operation Warm, a national nonprofit that manufactures high-quality coats and shoes for children in need. It has served more than 4 million children over the past 23 years.

Other organizations at the fair offered free COVID-19 vaccinations, hygiene kits and food bags to families. In addition to Operation Warm, MPC partnered with the Salt Lake Education Foundation (SLEF), a privately operated, nonprofit organization established to assist the Salt Lake City School District. The foundation arranged for buses to help transport families to and from the health fair.

“This partnership allowed us to have an immediate, positive impact on nearby families, so it supports MPC’s broader community investment goal of making people's lives better in the communities where we operate,” said MPC Salt Lake City refinery General Manager Eric Sjunnesen.

MPC’s grant will support a similar effort with SLEF and Operation Warm in the fall after the new school year begins. This second event will focus on distributing winter coats to children who attend.