The winning team from Pasadena, Texas.

In 2004 alone, 65,000 students participated in the program. The Pasadena (TX) Independent School District robotics team was founded in 1998 and Sunoco Chemicals has been part of this effort. The Houston Operations has supported the Robotics team at Pasadena Independent School District for the past two years. In 2005, Pasadena took first place in the Lone Star Regional competition in Houston and went to nationals.

The Chemicals Houston Operations serves on the Board of Directors of the Association whose internal focus is to improve the health, safety and environmental performance of the member companies through cooperative efforts, including the exchange of best practices. Externally, the Association’s focus is to continue open and candid dialogue with citizens, local government and state officials to:

• Better understand and address community and industry issues/concerns, including reducing risk associated with local plant operations;
• Ensure effective emergency management related to industrial incidents; and
• Better promote the joint economic interest of the community and industry.

Local companies donate money or gifts to the school to be used as door prizes throughout the evening. The La Porte Plant made a donation to support the program and had the Sunoco Chemicals Pittsburgh Technology & Commercial Center mold 600 pencil boxes to be used in the goody bag that each student received.

La Porte Plant employees volunteered at the school during the week of graduation to help set up decorations/games, etc., and do after-event cleanup. Each year three or four La Porte employees typically volunteer to chaperone the event.

Houston Operations employees fired up the barbeque pits to feed the hungry evacuees (some of whom arepictured below).

On January 23, 2006 represent-  atives of the Hurricane Katrina volunteers accepted a City Proclamation from Mr. Alton Porter, Mayer of the City of LaPorte, honoring Sunoco and its employees' community efforts.

Philadelphia Refinery management and hourly employees and contractors collected $10,888 for the American Red Cross hurrican relief effort.

Sunoco employees also undertook numerous efforts to assist hurricane victims directly, including:

Two days after beleaguered Hurricane Katrina evacuees streamed into Houston, Sunoco and Zachry (contract maintenance company) employees prepared to feed over 800 people staying at a local hotel. On Friday, September 2, Texas sized barbecue pits were smoking as volunteers prepared and served dinner for hundreds of stranded, grateful people. Sunoco purchased all of the food and drinks and Zachry donated gift cards that the evacuees could use to purchase necessary supplies such as toiletries lost or left behind in the haste of leaving their battered city. Also, clothing and baby supplies donated by Sunoco and Zachry employees were collected and distributed to evacuees via various shelters.

Near Christmas-time the City of La Porte Emergency Manager contacted Sunoco’s Houston Operations regarding six families who had been living in empty apartments since fleeing both Hurricane Katrina and Rita. The Houston Operations purchased furniture, including beds, mattresses, dressers, dining tables and sofas. The employees provided other household necessities such as pillows, blankets, sheets, towels, dinnerware, cookware, glasses etc. for each of the families. Seeing the joy of the recipients, such as a young boy knowing he now had a bed and no longer had to sleep on the floor, touched everyone involved.

Sunoco also provided personnel to the relief effort as Don Verdiani, from Sunoco’s Professional Services Group and an American Red Cross Disaster Services Human Resource (DSHR) volunteer, was loaned to the Red Cross from September 24th to October 17th. Don’s wife, a nurse and also a DSHR, joined him in the effort. They were both assigned to the large relief center in San Antonio, Texas. As Shelter Operations Manager, Don’s role was to coordinate the day-to-day operations, allowing the Shelter Manager and the San Antonio Red Cross chapter personnel more time to address the strategic issues associated with sheltering the thousands of Katrina and Rita evacuees arriving in San Antonio. Daily operations involved coordinating the hundreds of volunteers and agencies who were feeding the evacuees, maintaining the shelter, and assisting with locating missing persons, and managing communications with shelter residents. At one point, the population at the shelter reached 3,200 and was essentially its own little city with its own medical clinic, bank, post office, and even its own zip code.

Unveiled on Veterans Day 1996, this moving, 24 hour a day display is a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., designed for traveling to communities throughout the United States.

Over five hundred people attended the opening ceremony for the exhibit, and numerous events, including candlelight vigils, were held throughout the week.  Over 7,000 school children visited the exhibit and attended classes to learn about the 43 Gloucester County men killed during the Viet Nam War and the 51 listed as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action.

Sunoco Provides $1.1 million in Home Heating Oil Assistance
Sunoco donated $1.1 million in home heating oil to residents of Delaware Valley who qualify for the Federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The LIHEAP program is administered through existing social service agencies. When an agency determines an eligible recipient, Sunoco delivers the heating oil to the person’s home.

Providing Support

March of Dimes Walk America Approximately 30 Sunoco employees participated in the March of Dimes Ridley Creek WalkAmerica on a cold and windy April 24, 2005. The employees and friends raise donations, including $1,300 from one employee, that one day will hopefully find a cure for birth defects and infant mortality.

Sunoco supported a variety of community programs and efforts during 2005, some of which are mentioned below.

With a goal of bridging education to workforce development, Sunoco supported organizations such as The Academy of Natural Sciences’ Women in Natural Science Program, as well as continued our partnership with the Philadelphia School District to sponsor the Academy of Process Technology. Process technology scholarships were once again awarded through The College Consortium (Delaware County Community College Educational Foundation), in addition Sunoco’s support of Inroads Philadelphia program resulted in scholarships for four interns.

Sunoco also sponsored educational programs such as the:

• National Constitution Center’s School Visits Program, where children learned about the Constitution and rights and responsibilities of citizenship;
• Franklin Institute’s Traveling Science Show, which brought hands-on science shows to schools, camps, and community centers throughout the Mid-Atlantic states.; and
• Project HOME’s After School and College Access Programs, which provides teens with the academic tools to help break the cycle of poverty. 

Through the Philadelphia Fire Department Historical Corp., Sunoco funded production of the “Take It Outside” video, rulers with a fire safety message on them, and fire safety coloring books. These materials were used by the City of Philadelphia Fire Department in fire safety presentations to schools.

The Philadelphia Police Department Heads-Up Program was established to attack drug problems through prevention programs. Sunoco’s support makes it possible for the police department, along with volunteers from the recovering community and family members who have lost loved ones to drugs and violence, to visit schools in the Delaware Valley and educate students about preventing substance abuse and to provide them the tools to build solid character.

At the request of the City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services, Sunoco purchased backpacks for Taggart and Girard schools located in South Philadelphia near the Philadelphia Refinery. The backpacks were distributed to parents, for use by their children, who participated in Back to School Nights as an incentive for them to be more involved in their children’s education.

Sunoco also provided approximately $48,000 of diesel fuel to Philabundance, a Delaware Valley provider of food to the needy, to fuel their delivery vehicles.

In addition to the above, some of the organizations supported during 2005 in the various areas where we are located were:

• Toledo (Ohio) Area
  Toledo Museum of Art, Urban League of Greater Toledo, YMCA Scholarship Fund, East Toledo Family Center, The Toledo Symphony, East Toledo Kindergarten Enrichment Program, Toledo Zoo Education Fund, Duck and Otter Creek Partnership, Challenger Learning Center, Oregon Community and Family Coalition, and the Toledo Metropolitan Council of Governments Gas Cap Replacement Program.
• Bayport/La Porte (Texas) Area
  Pasadena Independent School District Robotics program, Pasadena Rodeo (educational scholarships), La Porte Education Foundation, Baytown FFA 4-H Youth Fair (educational scholarships), Texas Scholars (a classroom teaching and recognition program), Partners in Education, Bayshore-LaPorte Chamber of Commerce Salute to Industry, and City of La Porte E-merge System (community emergency communication system).
• Tulsa (Oklahoma) Area
  American Red Cross, Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Day Center for the Homeless, Carl McCain Foundation,  Tulsa Speech & Hearing Association, Tulsa Metropolitan Environmental Trust, Tulsa Air & Space Museum, Tulsa Boys Home, Park Friends, St. John Health System Foundation, Operation Aware, John 3:16 Mission, Clinton Middle School, Junior Achievement of Greater Tulsa, Tulsa Area Burn Survivors, Youth Services of Tulsa, Neighbors Along the Line, The Tulsa Zoo, and the Oklahoma Fit Kids Coalition
• Haverhill (Ohio) and Neal (West Virginia) Area
  Shawnee State University, Appalachian Regional Theater, Habitat for Humanity, Huntington Museum of Art  and the Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital (Horizon of Hope Program).
• Knoxville(Tennessee) Area
  American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Kids on the Block of Knoxville, Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank, and the United Way of Greater Knoxville.
• East Chicago (Indiana) Area
  America’s Second Harvest, Haven House, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Salvation Army, Sickle Cell Foundation, St. Joseph’s Home for Boys, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
• Vansant, (Virginia) Area
  Buchanan County YMCA, Community Arts Council, Oakwood Volunteer Fire Department, Richlands Recreational Center, Mountain Mission School, and the Southwest Virginia Community College.

Pittsburgh TCC employees undertook numerous projects for Day of Caring, including building picnic tables.

Employees gathered together at the Philadelphia Refinery to promote the United Way.

Getting the campaign started in Toledo.

Building a wheel chair ramp in Tulsa, OK.

Houston Operations employees (pictured above) built an outdoor activity center that included a stage, benches and fire pit.

Sunoco employees from the other eight United Way regions where Sunoco has a presence contributed about $1.2 million, bringing the total contributions from employees, retirees, and the Company to approximately $2.6 million. Sunoco employees also volunteered their time to help with a number of United Way sponsored activities and events. Examples of these efforts include:

Caring in Pittsburgh
Eighteen employees from the Pittsburgh TCC & Neville Island plant participated in the United Way Day of Caring on September 30, 2005 at the Three Rivers Center for Independent Living (TRCIL) in Wilkinsburg, PA. The employees worked on a number of projects including:

• Painting the dining room, kitchen, basement-office area, and office windows;
• Building 10 benches and one picnic table; and
• Landscaping the grounds outside the Center.

Houston Operations & United Way
Houston Operations kicked off their 2005 United Way campaign amid Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The response from all employees was overwhelming as they donated over $33,000 with an additional $1,700 raised through a raffle. The Houston Operations employees also participated in the United Way Day of Caring by building an outdoor activity center for the Boy Scout of America at the Cossaboom YMCA.

Tulsa Refinery Employees spend a “Day of Caring”
The Tulsa Area United Way kicked off its campaign with the Annual Day of Caring Event on September 9th. The employees spent the day building a wheel chair ramp at the home of a disabled person. Tulsa’s Day of Caring event is one of the largest in the nation with over 2,000 volunteers participating. The Refinery held its own United Way campaign during September and raised more than $150,000 to benefit the Tulsa Area United Way.