The Coastal Bend community is a key hub for domestic energy independence. Energy projects strengthen state economies across the region by expanding transportation infrastructure and market access for the domestic energy producers.
Economic Prosperity
Energy industry investments create jobs during both the construction and operational phases. Local economies benefit long-term from property tax revenues. This proposed project will also strengthen state economies across the region by expanding transportation infrastructure and market access for the domestic energy producers.
Giving Back
We invest all across Texas, including the Coastal Bend. Beyond the economic benefits our investments create in each community, we are committed to being a good neighbor. We seek to contribute to organizations that impact our community.
Investing in the Community
Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program Solar Water Well
Phillips 66 has made a $20,000 donation to fund a solar well installation in Lamar, a small community in Aransas County Texas, as part of its philanthropic giving program. The well, which has a pumping capacity of 10-12 gallons per minute operating four to six hours a day, will provide critical freshwater to the area, which is vital to the survival of endangered Whooping Cranes during their winter home in the coastal wetlands. The project is a partnership with the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program and the Aransas First Land Trust. The well is located on the 105 acres of wetlands that make up the critical Lamar Peninsula.
Three Coastal Bend Recipients Receive More than $80,000
Three local organizations received charitable contributions from Phillips 66 to continue serving their missions of educating and protecting their communities. The Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History received $30,000 for a brand-new Science of Sound exhibit, the Taft Police Department received $20,000 for upgrades to their digital communications system and the Woodsboro Volunteer Fire Department received $32,000 to purchase 18 complete sets of bunker gear.
Phillips 66 is dedicated to being a good neighbor through contributions to support the well-being of the communities where they live and operate. “This generous donation will aid in officer safety by equipping officers with better technology to communicate with one another and with surrounding agencies for clearer and faster response time,” said Taft Police Department Chief Ponce Trevino. “Our Department is excited about the implementation and conversion into this new technology and we are thankful to Phillips 66 for their partnership with our city and their support to public safety.”
Del Mar College Foundation
Phillips 66 is excited to announce the donation of $10,000 for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) scholarship funding that will assist five diverse students enrolled in courses full-time (course loads of 12 hours or more). The Phillips 66 STEM scholarships will support students studying in areas related to the petrochemical field including Process Technology, Industrial Instrumentation, Millwright, Environmental/Petrochemical Lab Technology and Industrial Machining Applied Technology. These programs address the high-demand for skilled workers in the petrochemical industry. To qualify for the scholarship, students must have and maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA (grade-point average).
The DMC Foundation administers donor-funded scholarships, both direct and endowed, to help Del Mar College students pay for their college education. Del Mar College Foundation awards between $1.2 and $1.9 million in scholarships each year thanks to generous donors like Phillips 66.
The Coastal Bend Food Bank
Phillips 66 is proud to donate $20,000 to the Coastal Bend Food Bank (CBFB). Considered an essential social service, the CBFB and Partner Agencies have remained fully operational during the COVID-19 outbreak. The CBFB is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies on food donations from local and regional producers, growers, distributors and retailers to supply its programs. Once donated, food is inspected, sorted and labeled. It is then repackaged for distribution to charities, food pantries, shelters, and senior centers, to name a few. Monetary donations are also used to order food when supplies run low. For every dollar that is donated, the CBFB can provide three meals to one person. The CBFB supplies food to 55 distribution sites across 11 counties including, McMullen, Live Oak, Bee, San Patricio, Aransas, Nueces, Jim Wells, Duval, Kleberg, Brooks and Kenedy.
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program (CBBEP)
With a contribution of $13,000, we are proud to partner with CBBEP to protect coastal bays and estuaries through their many educational and environmental programs. We are providing funding for six key areas, including the CBBEP’s environmental education program, Delta Discovery, which offers hands-on field trips to roughly 8,000 K-12 students each year. In addition, we are providing supplies for teacher workshops and community programs, such as Family Picnic Days and Nature Story Time. The contribution will also provide five bus trips to the Nueces Delta Preserve, ten boat trips to rookery islands throughout the Coastal Bend as well as cleanup supplies and t‑shirts.
Mustang Island State Park
As part of a multi-year commitment to support Texas State Parks through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF), we presented a much-needed utility terrain vehicle (UTV) to Mustang Island State Park, located near Port Aransas, TX. The bay side of the park is lightly developed and has limited access, which often limits the park’s law enforcement patrol vehicles from responding to emergencies and ensuring visitor safety. The new UTV will significantly impact law enforcement response time during emergencies and allow for a more consistent presence on the bay side of the park. Over 150,000 people visit Mustang Island State Park annually, which offers camping, hiking, birding, paddling, and some of the best shallow-water fishing in Texas.
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
Myrtle Foester Whitmire Unit
We are proud to contribute $100,000 in matching funds to help with the project design and permitting for reconstruction efforts in the Myrtle Foester Whitmire Unit at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The Whitmire Unit sustained damage from Hurricane Harvey and planning is underway to restore functionality to this wetland. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also awarded Ducks Unlimited $1.8 million in Congressional funds for the repair of water control structures, levees, water delivery canals, ditches and water well work that will affect 800 acres of managed moist-soil emergent wetland habitat.
Goose Island State Park
A $100,000 donation was presented to Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation to create new trails and signage at Goose Island State Park’s Big Tree Natural Area. The new trail system will go through the park’s different habitats, including woodlands, coastal prairie and marshland. Goose Island State Park is located 41 miles from Corpus Christi in Aransas County and hosts over 150,000 visitors annually. The park is home to the Big Tree, which has stood sentinel on the coast for centuries and was named State Champion Coastal Live Oak in 1969.
Lake Corpus Christi State Park
A $75,000 grant to Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation for Lake Corpus Christi State Park, located in San Patricio County, will provide for erosion control on bike trails and a nature playscape. We are proud to provide funding that will improve the park’s recreational offerings by expanding the current network of mountain biking trails and providing funding for a new nature playscape. Hosting more than 150,000 visitors annually, Lake Corpus Christi State Park offers camping, hiking, swimming, fishing, birding, paddling and boating.
Choke Canyon State Park
A $50,000 grant to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, will offer natural resource conservation efforts at Choke Canyon State Park. The park is located on the shores of Choke Canyon Reservoir, in Live Oak and McMullen counties, and receives more than 50,000 visitors annually. The park offers birding, camping, hiking, boating and fishing. The funding will support grassland restoration efforts near the main entrance of the park, which has become overgrown with mesquite and huisache. To highlight the natural beauty of the park, the area will then be seeded with native grasses and wildflowers.
Photos courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife