• By Anayo Ezugwu

AS part of its long-term commitment to help the Greater Houston area recover from Hurricane Harvey, Chevron Corporation has announced additional contributions of more than $2 million. The corporation said even though Harvey hit more than three months ago, the storm’s devastation was profound.

Jeff Shellebarger, president, Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company, said the Harvey affected countless children’s ability to learn, with thousands of families without reliable access to food and many more displaced from their homes. “Our partnerships with these exceptional organizations are aimed at getting the Houston area solidly back on its feet by providing long-term support to children, their families and the community,” he said.

Based on a methodical needs-assessment approach, Chevron has decided to contribute $750,000 to Save the Children’s Journey of Hope programme that will provide mental health support to 50,000 children affected by the storm that devastated the Houston region in late August. The Houston Food Bank will receive $226,000 for two new temperature-controlled mobile food pantries that will facilitate increased distribution of perishable items like meat, milk and produce to provide 400,000 meals per month.

Houston Habitat for Humanity will receive $200,000 for heavy equipment to restore more than 1,800 low-income homes damaged by the storm. Chevron employees and retirees also contributed more than $400,000 to the American Red Cross through Chevron’s Humankind programme, which the company will match 2:1.

The additional contributions from Chevron, its employees and retirees increased the total donated to Harvey Relief and Recovery efforts to more than $4 million.

Immediately after the storm, the company donated $1 million to the American Red Cross for immediate relief and another $1 million to the company’s Fuel Your School programme to help Harris County teachers rebuild their classrooms.

Chevron’s support for Save the Children’s Journey of Hope programme aligns with Chevron’s deeply rooted commitment to education in the greater Houston region. While Chevron historically has focused on science, technology, engineering and maths, educators in the region shared that before students could learn, they needed help recovering from the emotional stress endured following Hurricane Harvey.

With Chevron’s support, Save the Children’s Journey of Hope programme will reach 440 mental health care providers. Forty providers will conduct training of trainers and 400 will be implementing the programme, ultimately reaching 50,000 children in the Greater Houston area with age-appropriate psychosocial support.

Carolyn Miles, president and CEO, Save the Children, said although the floodwaters had receded, thousands of children in the Greater Houston area were still recovering from the emotional distress of Hurricane Harvey. She said through Journey of Hope, they could begin to help children cope and build resiliency to better bounce back after the unprecedented storm. “We are extremely grateful to Chevron for their generosity and in joining Save the Children to do whatever it takes to support children and families in their recovery,” she said.

With a local employee and contractor workforce of more than 8,000, Houston represents the single-largest concentration of Chevron employees globally, and the company has important business interests throughout Texas, including the Permian Basin and Corpus Christi.

A number of Chevron’s businesses are headquartered in Houston, including exploration and production companies for North America, Africa and Latin America; technology companies; pipeline, power and global procurement businesses; and the supply and trading function. In addition, many of Chevron’s major capital projects are planned and developed from Houston.

Chevron Corporation is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies. Through its subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide, the company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemicals and additives; generates power; and develops and deploys technologies that enhance business value in every aspect of the company’s operations.

–  Dec 13, 2017 @ 16:07 GMT