ExxonMobil contributes $225,000 toward Beaumont Education Programs

• Funding supports primary, secondary, technical and higher education programs in Beaumont
• Includes $45,000 for new STEM lab at BISD’s Austin Innovation Center

"Education is a fundamental building block for individual opportunity and economic growth," said Fernando Salazar, ExxonMobil’s Beaumont Refinery plant manager. “Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills, in particular, are critical to ensuring today’s students are prepared for the jobs of the 21st century. As we move forward from the impacts of Hurricane Harvey, we wish all students, educators and parents a safe and successful school year.”

To promote STEM development, ExxonMobil is contributing $45,000 to Beaumont Independent School District (ISD) for its new STEM lab, which will impact elementary and middle school students throughout the district, and will be housed at Early College High School’s Austin Innovation Center. The STEM lab will teach critical thinking and problem-solving skills through robotics, coding, minecraft, forensics and computer-aided design, and will be measured to strengthen State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) achievement.

"We appreciate ExxonMobil partnering with us on our new initiative to provide students with innovative instruction in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," said Beaumont ISD Superintendent Dr. John W. Frossard.

In addition to the new STEM lab, ExxonMobil will fund scholarships for up to 60 outstanding Beaumont ISD students to earn college-level credits with the Lamar Institute of Technology (LIT) at the Taylor Career Center, at a value of $24,000. An additional $10,000 in LIT post-high-school scholarship funding will be made available for South Park and Charlton Pollard residents. ExxonMobil will continue to fund the ongoing maintenance of process operating training equipment on-site at LIT for $18,000.

To help strengthen local access to craft labor opportunities, ExxonMobil is contributing $20,000 toward Lamar University’s Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship, which provides craft skills training and job placement assistance to local residents. 

ExxonMobil is donating $65,000 toward a variety of engineering programs at Lamar University, and $5,000 to the JASON project, which exposes Beaumont area students to STEM topics in a university setting. It is also donating $2,500 to the Beaumont Children’s Museum for extra-curricular STEM activities.

Because academic success depends upon strong foundations at home, ExxonMobil is contributing $28,000 toward programs that will help meet critical social needs, including dropout prevention, weekend meal supplementation, and back-to-school supplies. It is also providing $5,000 to Junior Achievement to help prepare Beaumont youth to transition to financially secure adults, and $2,500 to Beaumont ISD’s Foster Grandparent program. 

These community contributions reflect ExxonMobil’s commitment to workforce development and Growing the Gulf. ExxonMobil is investing a total of more than $20 billion over 10 years in 11 major expansion projects along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, including four projects in the Beaumont area. 

ExxonMobil currently has approximately 2,100 area employees, and its operations account for approximately 1 in every 7 jobs in the region. In 2016, ExxonMobil employees and retirees volunteered more the 14,000 hours across the Greater Beaumont area.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is one of the largest refiners and marketers of petroleum products and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world. For more information, visit our website or follow us on Twitter.

Public company information: NYSE:XOM