CITGO and Food Bag Give Back to Military Through Operation Helping Hand
TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 15, 2015 /3BL Media/ – Local CITGO Retailer Food Bag and CITGO Petroleum Corporation continued fueling good in Tampa, Fla. by donating $500 in CITGO gift cards to Operation Helping Hand, an organization providing assistance and support for families of active duty wounded and injured military. The gift cards will allow families to travel to visit their loved ones while they are being treated in Tampa.
Representatives from Food Bag presented the gift cards at Operation Helping Hand’s recent monthly dinner held at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, one of the nation’s largest integrated medical facilities in the Veterans Health Administration. Treating active duty military personnel wounded or injured in Iraq or Afghanistan, the Haley Hospital cares for patients from a few weeks or months to more than a year.
“Since inception in 2004, Operation Helping Hand has assisted more than 1,000 active duty wounded and their family members,” said Jim Griffin, president, Tampa chapter, Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). “Thanks to partners like CITGO and Food Bag, paying for gasoline to travel is one less thing these families will need to worry about so that they can focus on supporting and spending time with those wounded throughout their rehabilitation.”
This donation is just one way that CITGO and its local Marketers and Retailers are making a difference as part of the CITGO Fueling Good® program, which encourages everyone to get involved in their community and share the responsibility for improving the lives of others.
“We’re grateful for the service and sacrifice of our nation’s military and their families,” said Jeff Barcome, chief operating officer, Food Bag. “Through this donation and with the support of CITGO, we hope to make a difference in the lives of those involved with Operation Helping Hand as well as support the larger Tampa community.”
To learn more or get involved with Operation Helping Hand, visit www.operationhelpinghandtampa.com. For more about how CITGO is fueling good in the community, visit www.fuelinggood.com.
About Operation Helping Hand
Organized in May 2004, Operation Helping Hand is a special project of the Tampa chapter of the MOAA. Launched by its Chairman, Captain Robert J. Silah USN (Ret.), the organization is dedicated to supporting and enhancing the lives of severely injured active duty and medically retired War on Terror service members and their families. In 2005, Operation Helping Hand placed first out of 177 entries and was awarded a $10,000 grant at the Pentagon through a challenge offered by Newman’s Own, Fisher House Foundation and the Military Times Media Group. In 2006, Operation Helping Hand again entered and was awarded a $5,000 grant. Additionally, Operation Helping Hand has been awarded the United Way of Tampa’s prestigious “Golden Achievement Award” as well as the “Outstanding Community Service Award” from the Tampa Mayor’s Alliance, both in 2008.
About Food Bag
Food Bag is a locally owned and operated chain of convenience stores operating in several states. Food Bag has been in business for more than 55 years and has supported a range of organizations during this time, including Operation Helping Hand.
About CITGO
CITGO is committed to giving back to the local communities it serves through its network of locally-owned locations. CITGO Marketers and Retailers in Florida, such as Food Bag, own and operate more than 600 CITGO locations and are proud to support their communities. For more information on the positive impact of the locally-owned CITGO stations, visit www.fuelinggood.com.
CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by CITGO Holding Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com.
