CITGO Lemont Refinery Employees Hold "Christmas in July" Food and Supplies Drive

Annual Event Benefits Local Food Pantries and Domestic Violence Shelters

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Aug 16, 2012, 09:30 ET

LEMONT, Ill., Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 11^th year in a row, the CITGO Lemont Refinery Community Action Team (CCAT), found a way to spread Christmas joy this summer by collecting food and household goods for eight area food pantries and domestic violence shelters. From July 12 through Aug. 1, 2012, CCAT members placed boxes at designated collection sites throughout the refinery grounds, and asked employees to donate any toiletries, linens, school supplies, or food they could share with families in need.

The 11^th annual "Christmas in July" donation drive for food banks and domestic violence shelters was established as a way to help keep local organizations' shelves stocked with supplies year-round, since many food pantries and shelters see dwindling donations and support during the summer months. CCAT recognized this need, and decided to take action to help solve the problem with its Christmas in July program.

"We are so grateful to all of the CITGO Lemont Refinery employees for their generosity and thoughtfulness," said Lori Olkiewicz at the Bethany Open Pantry, one of the organizations that received donations from CITGO. "Every year, our supplies are stretched thin during the summer months when people's minds are on vacation, and not on those in need. Thanks to the CITGO food drive, we will be able to provide even more substantial and nutritious meals for the people we serve."

CITGO employees donated a total of five large storage containers full of non-perishable food items and essential household products to the chosen charities. The donations benefitted the Bethany Food Pantry of Lemont, the DuPage Township Pantry in Romeoville, the Guardian Angel Home, Lamb's Fold, the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, Daybreak Shelter in Joliet, and Lockport's FISH and Fairmont Food Pantries.

The CITGO Lemont Refinery employs more than 800 local residents on a full-time and contract basis in support of the local economy. While Lemont refinery employees produce high quality fuels for a large portion of the network of nearly 6,000 locally owned CITGO stations across the country, they also make a major positive impact on the community. Each year more than 2,500 volunteer hours and thousands of dollars are given in support of community programs such as Muscular Dystrophy Association, United Way and a variety of environmental and preservation programs. For more information on the CITGO Lemont Refinery, visit www.citgorefining.com/Lemont.

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 Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com.

SOURCE CITGO Petroleum Corporation