CITGO Announces 2nd Year of its Hands for Hillcrest Grant Program

Corpus Christi, Texas, July 1, 2013 /3BL Media/ – CITGO Petroleum Corporation and its Corpus Christi Refinery invite local non-profit organizations serving the Hillcrest community to apply for the second year of its Hands for Hillcrest grant program. Beginning July 1, 2013 through August 1, 2013, qualified 501(c)(3) organizations may apply to receive a grant for the second year of the program that will support initiatives that foster education and job skills, health and the environment in the Hillcrest community. 

“CITGO has been a part of Corpus Christi for more than 20 years, and the Hands for Hillcrest program is one more way we give back to the communities in which we serve,” said Sonny Loudon, vice president and general manager of the CITGO Corpus Christi refinery. “We take pride in making meaningful investments that improve the quality of life in Hillcrest, for its residents and future generations.”

In its first year, the Hands for Hillcrest program awarded nearly $500,000 to 10 organizations working in the Hillcrest community, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas, Corpus Christi Literacy Council, Lead First Foundation and Communities in Schools of the Coastal Bend. Funded organizations reported benefiting an estimated 1,500 community residents during the first year of the program in 2012. Through the Hands for Hillcrest program, CITGO has committed to donate up to a total of $1.5 million over a three-year period, which began in 2012, to qualified non-profit organizations in Corpus Christi to fund initiatives that will directly impact and improve the quality of life of Hillcrest residents.

To help determine the types of initiatives the program supports, CITGO conducted an opinion survey led by an independent organization among local residents concerning social issues. This data, combined with other research and surveys that have been conducted among Hillcrest residents since 2004, helped to identify which areas to address in order to make Hillcrest a more vibrant community.

All qualified Corpus Christi-based 501(c)(3) organizations that offer services to the Hillcrest community related to education and job skills, health or the environment are eligible to apply for a grant.  A seven-member advisory committee consisting of community leaders and focus area experts will assist in reviewing the applications and recommending programs for funding in 2013 - 2014. More information is available on the CITGO Corpus Christi refinery website at www.CITGOCorpusChristi.com.

The CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery provides more than 1,000 jobs locally, while generating more than $625 million per year in support of the local economy through salaries, services and taxes. In addition to producing high quality fuels for its network of nearly 6,000 independently owned and operated CITGO branded stations across the country, Corpus Christi refinery employees make a major positive impact on the community. Over the last five years, CITGO and its employees have provided almost 13,000 volunteer hours and nearly $6 million dollars in support of community organizations such as United Way, Charlie’s Place, Muscular Dystrophy Association, The Miracle League, Catholic Charities, the Special Olympics and a variety of environmental and preservation initiatives, such as the revitalization of the Gateway to Corpus Christi, Hans and Pat Suter Park and Adopt-A-Beach Clean Up.

CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products.  The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

For more information visit www.citgo.com.