Chevron Donates $1.25 Million to Nonprofits

PASCAGOULA -- Chevron pledged $1.25 million to two nonprofit organizations geared toward education and the environment, the Mississippi-based Sun Herald reported.

Chevron’s “Energy for Learning” donated the money to Excel by 5, an early-childhood community certification program, and the National Audubon Society in its efforts to develop the Pascagoula River Audubon Center, according to the report.

The company presented the money at a luncheon with county and state leaders.

“This should show everyone that big corporations are capable of leading the charge to support organizations that need it financially,” Mark Shriver, senior vice president of Save the Children, one of Chevron’s partner nonprofits said in the report. “Some people say: ‘What is a gas company doing rebuilding child-care facilities?’ But Chevron’s involvement after the storm has paved the way for corporations to get involved in future disaster responses. When you find out what the immediate needs are for the children you allow the entire family to get back on their feet.”

After Katrina, Chevron restored 40 child-care centers in Jackson County, and the partnership between Chevron, Save the Children, Mississippi State University and Help and Hope Foundation has become known as the ‘Chevron Model,” the report stated.

Additionally, there are plans to restore an additional 37 centers along the Gulf Coast.

“With the completion of our Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, we look forward to continuing our long-standing partnerships for the benefit of the children on Coast,” Chevron Pascagoula Refinery General Manager Tom Kovar said in the report. “We are here for the long haul.”