Rockport, Texas. – August 25, 2017 – The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) has invited CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery employees to attend “Sponsor Day” at the annual MDA Summer Camp in Camp Aranzazu near Rockport. During their time there, they will be free to tour the camp, participate in a camp activity and meet the campers that they have helped send to camp.

For over 60 years, the MDA has sent thousands of young people with mobility challenges to camps around the country for a week filled with limit-free fun. MDA Campers get to experience a community not only adapted for them, but one that allows them to be independent and to build life-long friendships. The local camp in Rockport, Texas, provides campers with a variety of fun-filled activities, which include archery, fishing, arts and crafts, and dances, to name a few. 

The MDA Summer Camp is provided at no cost to families thanks to year-round financial and volunteer contributions from sponsors like CITGO. As MDA’s largest sponsor, CITGO has raised funds for the association through golf and bowling tournaments, galas, auctions and the renowned Shamrock Bowl in the corporation’s many operational areas for the last three decades. One of the latest fundraising efforts held by CITGO was its sponsorship of the 26th annual Corpus Christi Golf Tournament at the Palmilla Beach Golf Club in May which raised $255,000. The proceeds from the event benefit all MDA initiatives, including research, patient support and the MDA Summer Camp. 

“We are absolutely elated to be invited to this year’s MDA Summer Camp. All the fundraising and volunteering events done throughout the years have been translated towards initiatives that CITGO and the MDA both take pride in, and it is terrific to see how they benefit the kids in these life-changing opportunities,” said Alirio Zambrano, VP and General Manager of CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery.

“This year, CITGO and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) celebrate 31 years of partnering together to fuel MDA's mission to help kids and adults living with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related muscle-debilitating diseases live longer and grow stronger,” said Sandra Pearson, MDA Area Director for Corpus Christi. “We are so excited for the employees at the CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery to experience first-hand what their efforts with the Association have accomplished.” 

Since 1986, CITGO employees, Marketers and Retailers have raised more than $200 million to help find treatments and cures, rally communities and support families with services like MDA Care Centers, Summer Camps and support groups. The CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery has been an active force in the CITGO-MDA partnership by fundraising and volunteering in initiatives, such as the MDA Golf Tournament, which have aided in the awareness and research or neuromuscular diseases. 

About MDA
MDA is leading the fight to free individuals — and the families who love them — from the harm of muscular dystrophy, ALS and related muscle-debilitating diseases that take away physical strength, independence and life. We use our collective strength to help kids and adults live longer and grow stronger by finding research breakthroughs across diseases; caring for individuals from day one; and empowering families with services and support in hometowns across America. Learn how you can fund cures, find care and champion the cause at mda.org

About CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery
The CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery, which celebrated 80 years of operations in 2015, provides more than 1,000 jobs locally, while generating more than $345 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 5,500 independently owned and operated CITGO branded stations across the country, Corpus Christi refinery employees make a major positive impact on the community. In 2016 alone, CITGO employees in Corpus Christi volunteered more than 1,800 hours of their personal time to local and national charities. Since 2013, the CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery and its employees have provided more than 11,000 volunteer hours and approximately $3.3 million 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. For more information on the CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery, visit www.citgorefining.com/corpus-christi.

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.