Employee Networks at Chevron Pascagoula Refinery hosted a friendly competition throughout the month of July to benefit less-fortunate children in the Pascagoula-Gautier School District through the Backpack Buddies program.
The refinery collected a total of 9,192 items and $2,878 in monetary donations (more than $5,600 when matched by Chevron Humankind).
The point system for the food drive competition assigned 1 point for 1 item, and 4 points for every $1 donation.
Rather than the Networks competing against each other this year, donated money and food items were assigned by the giver to a college football team. The winner of the food drive competition was Ole Miss, with a total of 9,103 points, and the Ole Miss flag was flown at the refinery Main Gate and the Company Reps office in honor of this ‘win.’
The Backpack Buddies program was started in 1995 by a school nurse in Little Rock, Ark., who realized that children coming to her with headaches and stomach aches were actually suffering from hunger, not illness. At that time, she began sending food home with the children in their backpacks on Fridays. The school where she worked saw an immediate improvement in grades and in enthusiasm in the children. From that time, the program has spread throughout the country, including several in Jackson County.
Special thanks to Lecie Houston (Oils Planning), Anthony Fields (M&R) and Jackie Modist (Technical) for leading this year’s food drive.
