pro bono and beyond:
how human energy powers volunteering

We believe that our business succeeds best when the people we work with and the communities in which we operate succeed, too—we are in The Business of Progress. Chevron volunteers showcase this commitment by supporting their communities year-round through ongoing volunteer projects. They give their talents and time, all with the intention of bettering the lives of others. Their spirit of giving back reflects our core values and furthers the business of progress.

In 2014, Chevron’s Law Function launched its pro bono program in San Ramon, California, and Houston, Texas. Since its creation, more than 90 lawyers and nonlawyer professionals have partnered with various organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Houston and Louisiana to provide more than 1,000 hours of legal services for veterans, minors with immigration issues, seniors, at-risk youth and other groups in need of legal assistance.

“The Chevron Law function is helping make justice accessible to the most underserved individuals in the communities where we live and work,” said Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer Mary Francis, who is a champion for the program. “Personally, I’ve found my pro bono service to be enormously rewarding—I’ve seen results that put people on a whole new path,” Francis added.

In partnership with Swords to Plowshares, which provides legal, housing and employment assistance to Bay Area veterans, Francis helped a young female veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder receive a monthly benefits award. Mike Lodge, senior counsel, helped a decorated Marine obtain a 100 percent Veterans Affairs disability rating, resulting in significant payback of benefits and an ongoing monthly pension.

The Regional Occupational Program (ROP) is a partnership between Chevron and the Contra Costa County Office of Education that prepares students for well-paying jobs in the petrochemical and related industries, including technical jobs at the Richmond Refinery.

Twice a year, Chevron Richmond employees conduct mock interviews with ROP students. By practicing interviewing with Chevron volunteers, ROP students can strengthen the communications skills that prepare them for job interviews. In 2016, 73 employees and 130 ROP students participated in the mock interviews, and employees contributed 803 hours to the program.

For at least one Chevron employee, the mock interview experience is full circle. Fernando Ramirez, a ROP graduate and operator trainee at the refinery, participated in the mock interviews as a ROP student. Now, as an employee, Ramirez gives back to the program by volunteering for the mock interviews.

As America’s largest food bank, the Houston Food Bank’s vision is to provide food access for all. With the support of Chevron Houston employees, the Houston Food Bank is making this vision a reality. Since 2013, over 9,000 Chevron employees have volunteered for more than 36,700 hours with the Houston Food Bank. Their efforts have produced the equivalent of 2.2 million nutritious meals.

Chevron volunteers prepare and serve hot meals in the food bank’s new Keegan Kitchen, a 10,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art industrial kitchen. Volunteers also sort and prepare food for distribution. The food is then distributed to food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers and other agencies through the food bank’s network of 600 hunger relief charities in 18 southeastern Texas counties. In addition to hot meals and food preparation, volunteers prepare meals for the Backpack Buddy program, which provides child-friendly food for schoolchildren to take home over the weekend.

Through Chevron’s funding and volunteer support over the length of the partnership, Chevron has helped the Houston Food Bank become the largest food bank in the country and earn the recognition of 2015 Feeding America Food Bank of the Year.

For most employees, the end of the workday means going home. But six Midland, Texas, employees end one job to start another at Casa de Amigos, a vibrant multicultural neighborhood center that provides comprehensive services for local community members. For Chevron volunteers, Casa de Amigos doesn’t feel like a job at all.

SOMOS Network volunteers focus their efforts on adult education, including helping with English as a Second Language classes, General Education Development preparation and an eight-week citizenship class. Casa de Amigos brings these services free of cost to members of the Permian Basin community.

Chevron also supports Casa de Amigos’ Take 2 program, a job-training program for low-income residents of Midland and Odessa, Texas.

Chevron Pascagoula employee volunteers take to heart The Chevron Way value to “protect people and the environment.” Throughout the year, employees support a variety of environmental cleanup efforts in the Pascagoula community and surrounding areas.

One of those efforts took place in 2016, when 22 employees volunteered at the Mississippi Coastal Cleanup, a partnership between the Pascagoula Refinery and the Pascagoula River Audubon Center. Throughout the day, volunteers focused on an inshore and land-based cleanup in the Bayou Chicot area of Pascagoula. Volunteers gathered more than 890 items, ranging from plastic bottles to tennis balls to fishing lines.

Employees also volunteer with organizations to improve the local habitat. In 2016, in partnership with the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain, employees helped with a tidal marsh restoration project by preparing land along Weeks Bayou in Ocean Springs for replanting marsh grass.