James Twohig, Director of Valero Ireland, thanked parents and the many teachers from schools throughout Ireland who, he said, “have continued to give encouragement and support to the many thousands of young artists who have entered the Competition over the course of its 66-year history."
It’s been a very different year for Valero’s volunteers in 2020, with many of the planned events and fundraisers having to be cancelled due to the pandemic. However, the company, who market fuel in the UK under the Texaco brand, has been determined to continue supporting its charities and have not let the pandemic stop them from finding other ways to raise money.
The annual bake offs, sporting events and senior luncheons had to be put on hold in order to observe social distancing rules but were instead replaced with virtual fundraisers and outdoor events.
One recent event involved staff at the refinery in Pembroke completing a fitness challenge of their choice. Activities ranged from walking the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, completing the Ironman Triathlon, running at least two miles every day and travelling 1,000 miles using human power alone. An amazing £10,000 was raised and donated to the DPJ Foundation, a charity that supports mental health awareness and wellbeing in rural communities and agriculture.
In September, staff at Avonmouth terminal took part in the annual Mark Uzzell memorial bike ride. The usual cycle tracks could not be ridden this year as they were deemed too busy to meet the strict regulations, however a new route was found that could accommodate both the cyclists and public safely. Tweaking the route meant the fourth annual cycle ride could go ahead and money be raised in memory of a much loved work colleague. The 48 mile cycle ride raised £340 for the British Heart Foundation.
It has also been possible for the volunteers to visit RDA Barrow Farm again this year. Valero have been supporting this charity for nine years and they very much appreciated that the team could work out a way to help again this year in a Covid-compliant way. Our volunteers helped with numerous jobs such as hedge cutting, clearing weeds and replacing fence posts, which has enabled the charity to continue to provide a great service to disabled children and adults during the pandemic.
In addition, staff at Valero’s head offices in Canary Wharf have completed two virtual relays this year, which saw employees from up and down the UK cycle, walk, run, spin, combat and Zumba in 20 minute slots. Phones pinged all day as each person sent a selfie and a good luck message to the next participant when they finished. The events generated a real sense of community, fun and wellbeing whilst raising funds for local charities MIND Tower Hamlets & Newham, Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice and Richard House Children’s Hospice, and national charities, Alzheimer’s Society and Brain Tumour Research. Due to the success of these, a third Christmas themed virtual relay is being planned for this month.
Staff have also ‘Grown a Mo’ for this year’s Movember to raise funds and awareness for men’s health and Valero will once again be supporting the Christmas toy appeal, which donates gifts to 2000 children living locally in Newham, East London; one of the poorest urban areas in the UK. This year due to Covid restrictions, Valero have set up an Amazon gift list to choose and purchase gifts from rather than bring one into the office. Donations will mean children from 3 months to 14 years will have a present to open on Christmas day.
The coronavirus pandemic may have put a pause on some of Valero’s volunteering, but we’re proud the company has still been able to create other ways to continue to support and raise funds for important causes and help those that need it the most during these challenging times.
In these socially distanced times, employees at the Pembroke refinery took a rather un-teamly approach to fundraising for this year's charity of the year, the DPJ Foundation. Rather than hordes of teal-clad employees getting together for one great effort, the Valero Volunteer Council (VVC) challenged them to raise money by completing a challenge of their choice in August and September. Open to individuals and teams, activities ranged from walking the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, completing the Ironman Triathlon, running at least two miles every day and travelling 1,000 miles using human power alone.
With some match-funding from Valero, the combined efforts raised £10,000 for the DPJ to continue its work. The foundation was set up in 2016 in response the suicide of Daniel Picton-Jones to address the lack of support for those suffering from poor mental health in rural communities and in agriculture. Workers in agriculture carry the highest rate of suicide. The DPJ has three mains aims in its work: support, through counselling, mental health awareness and bespoke training. The Foundation's Manager Kate Miles said, “We cannot believe the amount that has been raised. This will make such a difference to us to enable us at the DPJ Foundation to keep helping the agricultural community in Pembrokeshire and in Wales with their mental health by providing counselling and mental health awareness training.
“We think it is particularly fitting that much of the funds raised were the result of a fitness challenge as exercise has been shown to improve mental wellbeing."
Refinery manager Ed Tomp (pictured left), presented a cheque to the charity's manager Kate Miles (pictured right). Tomp said, “The way the workforce embraced this challenge shows how everyone at the refinery pulls together to help others.
“The DPJ Foundation is a very worthy charity and it is vital that we all recognise the importance of mental health. The pandemic has shone a light on these issues and Pembroke refinery is delighted to help continue to raise awareness."
Park Garage Group (PGG) have once again extended their relationship with Valero and added a further two sites to their Texaco portfolio. This brings their total number of sites under the Texaco brand to 30. The new additions are Park Welsh Harp in North West London, previously BP branded for ten years, and Park Harborne in Birmingham, previously Esso branded for ten years.
Hemant Tandon, Park Garage Group Operations Director, said, “PGG holds a successful 30-year relationship with Texaco and is committed, more so now than ever, to strengthening this existing relationship. We have recently expanded our portfolio of sites through the acquisition of Park Harborne and are proud to announce that Texaco will work with us to service this site. Furthermore, we have converted an existing PGG site to Texaco in Park Welsh Harp."
He went on to say, “We will continue to develop our relationship with the Valero family, and in particular with Keith Evans and Andrew Cox as our account manager and director sales and marketing respectively. Both Keith and Andrew's dedication to our business has allowed us to grow far and beyond, and they have always worked hard to meet our vision. We are also proud to say that our existing and new customers have taken an instant liking to the Texaco Star Rewards loyalty scheme and we hope that such rewards from Texaco continue to grow our business."
The Park Welsh Harp site is located in a busy part of London near the M1 motorway and North Circular road system, whilst Park Harborne is well located near the main routes into Birmingham and near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Both sites offer a forecourt shop, jet wash, Air Water Tower (tyre pressure gauge and water dispenser in one) and stock all grades of fuel including Supreme Diesel.
Andrew Cox, Valero's director sales and marketing, said," Our relationship with Park Garage Group goes back a long way and we are thrilled that Valero remain the fuel supplier of choice for the majority of their sites. Our emphasis on communications and account management has always been paramount and we have built an excellent working relationship with PGG over the years. I am absolutely delighted to have two new Park sites join us and with superb retailers Hemant, Sunil and Balraj at the helm, I'm sure we'll see success for years to come."
Petrol near meEUROSPAR Kilkeel Greencastle in Newry, County Down and SPAR Musgrave in Belfast have switched to the Texaco brand, bringing the total number of Henderson sites under the brand to four. EUROSPAR Saintfield Road moved to Texaco in 2014 and SPAR Seagoe in Portadown joined at the end of last year.
Henderson Retail is one of Northern Ireland's largest independent fuel site operators. EUROSPAR Kilkeel Greencastle switched this month, while SPAR Musgrave will be joining in October.
Ron Whitten chief financial officer, Henderson Group, said, “Our strong relationship with Valero has grown over the years and we thought that the time was right to strengthen our network of Texaco branded sites. We were impressed with the fuel package on offer as it suited the needs of the company."
EUROSPAR Kilkeel Greencastle is situated in a busy fishing town with strong farming links and sees circa 12,000 customers visit in a normal week. Due to a number of caravan parks close by, the site can see up to an increase of 30 percent in sales and footfall during the summer months. In 2015, the store was refurbished from a small convenience store to a 5,180 square foot EUROSPAR, doubling in size and giving the local community a one-stop shop that includes a Post Office, deli, butchers, Subway and goods from local artisan suppliers. The staff are also very passionate about raising money for local charities and since 2015 have raised over £75,000.
SPAR Musgrave serves a neighboring hospital and has direct links to the main route in and out of Belfast. It sees a much wider catchment of customers but the team are still well known for going the extra mile to deliver a great service.
Andrew Cox, Valero's director sales and marketing, said, "We are incredibly proud that Henderson Retail have chosen to switch another two of their sites to the Texaco brand. They're a significant player in the Northern Ireland market and we're delighted that our relationship with them continues to grow, and they know Valero can be relied upon to support their business with security of supply, quality fuels and an industry-leading delivery service."
Henderson Retail owns and operates over 95 SPAR and EUROSPAR stores in Northern Ireland. Henderson Retail forms part of the Henderson Group, which began its operations in the retail grocery business back in 1897 selling butter, cheese and eggs at premises on the Old Lodge Road in Belfast.
After six years of annual fundraising, the ambitious goal of raising £1m for children's charities looked well within reach this year. The UK Benefit for Children Classic (BFC) proposed the target some time ago and year-on-year, the total bounced up so that last year, the final figure stood at £832,000, within striking distance of the £1m target.
However, as the implications of the lockdown became clearer, the company made the difficult decision, first to postpone the event, then as the pandemic developed, to cancel this year's fundraising event.
Matt Dooley, Vice President UK Operations, said, “We were all understandably upset that it could not go ahead, as we knew it would impact the charities we support at a time of extraordinary need."