CITGO Lemont Refinery Sponsors Fifth Annual MDA Muscle Team Event
More Than $200,000 Raised for Area MDA Families
CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2014 /3BL Media/ -- CITGO Lemont Refinery employees joined the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and professional athletes including Chicago Blackhawks star Brandon Bollig, former Chicago Bears player Rashied Davis and Chicago White Sox legend Ron Kittle for the 5th Annual MDA Muscle Team Event, which raised more than $200,000. The proceeds will benefit thousands of families in the Chicagoland area living with neuromuscular disease by providing MDA support services, research and educational programs including local clinics at Lurie Children's Hospital, Shriners Hospital for Children, Northwestern Medical Center and University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Medical Center. The money will also assist with repairs to medical equipment, provide flu shots, fund support groups and send local children to a week of MDA Summer Camp.
"MDA is grateful to have such a dedicated partnership with the CITGO Lemont Refinery and its generous employees," said April Elashik, Executive Director of the MDA Chicagoland offices. "As a presenting sponsor of our 5th Annual Muscle Team Event, CITGO has helped to provide the best care available to our local families with neuromuscular disease. Most importantly, this support allows us to continue making progress towards a cure through life-saving research efforts. The support of CITGO is unsurpassed. Together, we are making progress that can move muscles."
The 2013 MDA Muscle Team Event was held on Oct. 25 at Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears. The unique reception and fundraiser brings together Chicago area athletes, MDA families and sponsors to put their muscle behind the search to find treatments and a cure for neuromuscular diseases. Children living with neuromuscular diseases were paired up for the evening with players from the Blackhawks, the White Sox and the Bears. Attendees had the chance to participate in a variety of activities, including a wine pull, live and silent auctions showcasing a variety of items, including sports tickets, unique sports memorabilia and a chance to create a lifetime of memories by sending a child to MDA summer camp.
The MDA is able to host this special event because of the generous year-round contributions and volunteer work the association receives from its sponsors, including CITGO. CITGO is MDA's top corporate sponsor and has been supporting the organization since 1986, raising more than $160 million through the efforts of its employees and the local owners and operators of the nearly 6,000 CITGO locations. CITGO employees and marketers raise 90 percent of these donations through a variety of special fundraising events such as golf and bowling tournaments, walk-a-thons and auctions. These volunteer efforts and donations help MDA provide rehabilitation services to more than one million families in the United States.
The CITGO Lemont Refinery employs more than 800 local residents on a full-time and contract basis in support of the local economy. In addition to producing high quality fuels for a large portion of the network of nearly 6,000 locally-owned CITGO stations across the country, Lemont refinery employees also make a major positive impact on the community. Each year, more than 2,500 volunteer hours and thousands of dollars are given in support of community programs such as MDA, United Way and a variety of environmental, education and preservation programs. For more information on the CITGO Lemont Refinery, visit www.citgorefining.com/Lemont.
CITGO, which is 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 Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com.
