HispanicBusiness

CITGO Petroleum Corporation and its Corpus Christi refinery have announced today the recipients of $500,000 worth of grants under the first year of the company's 'Hands for Hillcrest' program.

The initiative is aimed at supporting local non-profit organizations that provide crucial services to the Hillcrest Community. It was launched this past May to distribute $1.5 million over three years.

"It is very exciting to be here today to announce the progress we have made in efforts to strengthen and revitalize the Hillcrest Community," said Sonny Loudon, vice president and general manager of the CITGO Corpus Christi refinery. "We look forward to the positive results that the program will generate for the benefit of our neighbors."

The following local organizations will be receiving grants this year:

-- Big Brothers & Big Sisters

-- Communities in School for the Coastal Bend

-- Corpus Christi Literacy Council

-- It's Your Life Foundation

-- LEAD First Foundation

-- Mary McLeod Bethune Day Nursery

-- Mission of Mercy

-- United Way of the Coastal Bend

-- YWCA Corpus Christi

-- Nueces County Community Action Agency

All qualified Corpus Christi-based 501(c)(3) organizations who offer services to the Hillcrest Community related to job development/training, education, health and the environment were eligible to apply for grants. A seven-member community advisory committee assisted in reviewing the applications and determining which programs were to be funded.