CITGO Lake Charles Employees Provide for Christmas to Local Families

SULPHUR, La., January 9, 2017 /3BL Media/ – CITGO Lake Charles Refinery employees offered Christmas donations and gifts to local families this holiday season through local charities and CITGO Partner in Education E.K. Key Elementary School. Employees raised $6,632 to purchase Christmas presents and household necessities for the families. 

CITGO employees prove their commitment to the Southwest Louisiana community every year by giving, especially during the holidays. The 24 young men residing at Boys Village received $4,032 divided into gift cards for each child as Christmas presents and a Christmas party, which included a meal and fun games with CITGO employees. The party has become an annual favorite at Boys Village, where many of the children are not able to return home for Christmas and use the gift cards to purchase presents for their own family members.

The CITGO Lab employees also raised funds throughout the year and offered their donations of $500 to Oasis A Safe Haven for Survivors of Domestic & Sexual Violence and $500 to E.K. Key Elementary School just in time for Christmas. The Lab has raised money for local charities since 2001 and continues this tradition every year by picking organizations of their choice to bless for Christmas. The money donated to E.K. Key Elementary was used to buy Christmas presents for some of the children who attend the school. E.K. Key Principal Laura LeDoux visited the CITGO Lab to thank employees and said their gift means more than they know. “How blessed we are! The employees of CITGO are always ready to give from the heart. Their generosity will enable us to make the holidays a little brighter for some of our students’ families,” LeDoux said.
 
Oasis Executive Director Kathy Williams also visited the Lab and personally thanked the employees for their generous contribution, which is used for transportation fees and resources in bringing women to the shelter. “The CITGO Lab employees’ generous donations year after year to Oasis provide assistance to battered women and their children that grants to do not provide. These donations have been extremely important in saving lives. Thank you for what you continue to do for our community,” Williams said.
 
CITGO Lake Charles Refinery Vice President and General Manager Tomeu Vadell said CITGO employees always show up for the community at the opportune time. “Giving is what this season is truly about and our employees always come through for our community,” Vadell said.
 
Since 1989, the CITGO LCMC Maintenance, Inspection and Reliability Departments have also supplied Christmas presents for families in the Southwest Louisiana community. This Christmas, they adopted two families from the Salvation Army and one from the Oasis women’s shelter. They also collected more than $1,200. The proceeds were used to purchase clothing, food and gifts requested by the families. In addition, employees from the CITGO Vacuum Unit also provided $400 in monetary funds to Oasis.
 
At CITGO, we understand that we operate as a privilege in the communities where we serve, not as a right. We promote and participate in a wide variety of social development programs locally and nationally. We also promote the spirit of volunteerism and encourage employees to take active roles in our communities. It is the generous spirit of our employees that truly benefits the communities we live and work in.

About CITGO
CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by CITGO Holding, 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.