SULPHUR – March 5, 2019 – In alignment with National Reading Month and as part of its nationwide 2019 tour, mobile literacy program Bess the Book Bus delivered the joy of reading to young students throughout Southwest Louisiana with the help of The CITGO Lake Charles Refinery.
“Creating unique educational opportunities for Southwest Louisiana children is so important to CITGO and the employees here at the Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex,” said Jerry Dunn, Vice President and General Manager of the CITGO Lake Charles Refinery. “During this year’s tour stops, Bess the Book Bus and CITGO employees gave more than 616 books to local children.”
Four schools, including Hunter Head Start Wonderland of Play, Vincent Settlement Elementary, E.K. Key Elementary and Calcasieu Parish Alternative Site West, received a special visit from Bess the Book Bus. Based in Tampa, Fla., Bess the Book Bus was founded by Jennifer Frances in 2002 to help make book ownership a reality for the country’s underserved children. Since inception, Bess the Book Bus has delivered more than 750,000 books in 48 states.
In addition to its work with Bess the Book Bus, CITGO supports several educational initiatives throughout Calcasieu Parish, including the CITGO Innovation Academy at E.K. Key Elementary which offers a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) based curriculum to students from across the region. Since 1988, CITGO has participated in the Calcasieu Parish School Board’s Partners in Education Program, currently serving four schools including Sulphur High School, Sulphur 9th Grade Campus, E.K. Key Elementary School and Calcasieu Parish Alternative Sites, to improve educational opportunities for local students.
About CITGO
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, CITGO Petroleum Corporation is a recognized leader in the refining industry with a well-known brand. CITGO operates three refineries located in Corpus Christi, Texas; Lake Charles, La.; and Lemont, Ill., and wholly and/or jointly owns 48 terminals, nine pipelines and three lubricants blending and packaging plants. With approximately 3,400 employees and a combined crude capacity of approximately 749,000 barrels-per-day (bpd), CITGO is ranked as the fifth-largest, and one of the most complex independent refiners in the United States. CITGO transports and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products and supplies a network of approximately 5,200 locally owned and operated branded retail outlets in 30 states and the District of Columbia. CITGO Petroleum Corporation is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com.