CITGO Tampa Terminal Joins The Miguel Show's Book Adventures Program to Fuel a Love of Reading in Tampa Schools

TAMPA, Fla. – March 11, 2016 /3BL Media/ – Hundreds of elementary school students in the Tampa, Fla. area are benefitting this school year from The Miguel Show’s Book Adventures program, sponsored by CITGO Petroleum Corporation’s Tampa Terminal. From March through May, local radio station Hot 101.5 FM morning show hosts Miguel and Holly are visiting five local public schools to conduct read-alouds and activities with the students, while long-time CITGO partner Bess the Book Bus provides the students with brand new, free books. In addition, CITGO is awarding a grant to each of the five schools as part of its Fueling Education program.

“As colleagues and friends, Holly and I immediately formed a strong bond over our love of reading,” said Miguel Fuller, co-host of The Miguel Show. “By creating The Miguel Show’s Book Adventures program this year, we hope to use our show as a platform to share that love of reading and excitement for learning with students at local schools. Given their strong ties to the community and focus on education, both CITGO and Bess the Book Bus are the ideal partners to join us in this initiative.”    

The program kicked off with DeSoto Elementary, where Miguel and Holly engaged the school’s 250 students in grades K – 5 by reading their favorite books.  CITGO and its local branded Marketer, Handy Foods, a family-owned company committed to serving the local community for more than 50 years, were on hand to present the donation to the school’s principal.

Mobile literacy program Bess the Book Bus, founded by Tampa native Jennifer Frances, will also join Holly, Miguel and CITGO at all the school events, for students to climb onboard and choose their own brand new, free books to take home with them. CITGO has been a sponsor of Bess the Book Bus for several years, together providing more than 50,000 books to approximately 25,000 children across 30 states last year alone.

The next stop for The Miguel Show’s Book Adventures program will be Kings Highway Elementary School in Clearwater. Tampa Bay area community members can nominate their local school to benefit from the program by visiting http://www.hot1015tampabay.com/s/themiguelshow/.  Book donations for the program are also being collected at participating Pin Chasers locations. 

“Supporting The Miguel Show’s Book Adventures program aligns perfectly with our community-based and education-focused priorities at CITGO,” said Rick Esser, Vice President of Supply and Marketing for CITGO. “By providing the schools with grants to help fund much-needed supplies for their classrooms and including our local Marketers and Retailers in these efforts, we aim to make a difference for hundreds of students in the Tampa Bay area.” 

In addition to supporting reading and learning through The Miguel Show’s Book Adventures program, CITGO will soon launch its fourth annual Fueling Education Sweepstakes, offering public elementary school teachers the opportunity to learn innovative ways to present STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects to their students and the chance to win brand new school supplies for their classrooms. 

To learn more about how CITGO and its terminals and local Marketers and Retailers are supporting education in their communities, visit www.fuelinggood.com. 

About Bess the Book Bus 
Bess the Book Bus is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization committed to extending literacy across the country. Run by Jennifer Frances of Tampa, Florida, the organization visits local communities across the country in a specially designed "book bus," coordinating reading events and providing children with free, new books for them to keep. For more information, visit www.bessthebookbus.org.

About CITGO 
CITGO is committed to giving back to the local communities it serves through its network of locally owned CITGO locations. CITGO Marketers and Retailers in Florida own and operate nearly 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. 
 
###