Corpus Christi, Texas – August 20, 2013 – CITGO Petroleum Corporation and its Corpus Christi Refinery launched the Hands for Hillcrest Program in 2012, committing to invest a total of $1.5 million over a three-year period for programs that enhance the quality of life in the Hillcrest Neighborhood. CITGO is proud to announce that one of the first Hands for Hillcrest beneficiaries, Justice Randall, was recently awarded the Communities in Schools (CIS), Student of the Year award.

Justice Randall shared the struggles and personal obstacles preventing her from attending school with her Communities in Schools (CIS) caseworker.  CIS connected Justice with the CITGO Hands for Hillcrest Program, which provided Justice with the tools she needed to begin attending classes and focus on her education. With a newly found inspiration, she mentored incoming freshmen, encouraging them to stay in school. Justice was the spotlight student at the CIS Gala, telling her heartwarming story of how CIS and Hands for Hillcrest helped her complete school and plan for a college career. Justice worked to improve her grades and graduated from Roy Miller High School at the top of her class. She will be attending the University of Texas at San Antonio to pursue a nursing degree. Congratulations to Justice on a well-deserved CIS Student of the Year award.

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.

Communities in Schools is a non-profit organization that works within the schools to determine student needs to match them with local services and programs. The Communities in Schools’ mission is to provide resources and support so that students can focus on completing their education.

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.

 

-o0o-