This year, the Christmas Toy Appeal involved an Amazon gift list that Valero employees clicked on to contribute 86 toys to children aged three months to 14 years old, living in Newham.
Kevin Jenkins, the Founder of Ambition, Aspire, Achieve and the Christmas Toy Appeal, said, “In this, the most difficult and challenging of all years, [the appeal] was able to provide 2,891 children with a Christmas stocking for Christmas morning and 100 families (approx. 300 children) with a seasonal food hamper. Thank you Valero for your wonderful support, which was truly appreciated."
With many staff working from home, the usual foodbank appeal was not practical this year. Instead, staff emailed in pictures of donations to local foodbanks and the number or value was recognised with volunteer hours. In total, 22 people took part and were awarded 72 volunteer hours.
Valero's first virtual raffle was a great success with 65 people raising £1,400 for the chosen charities. As John Lewis couldn't source the hampers, vouchers for the store were sent out instead. Many of the physical prizes – including the Hotel Chocolat hamper – were sent out directly from the manufacturers.
One Christmas volunteering event did involve real-life actual volunteers. A three-strong team went to the Isle of Dogs headquarters of the East End Community Foundation to pack up 'care packages', assembled from donated items that included food items, toiletries, word search books and warm blankets. The EECF were amazed that our volunteers managed to pack 133 bags in just three hours.
While the 66th Texaco Children's Art Competition has taken place with less hullabaloo than usual, the entries still poured in. This year, the judging was delayed by the onset of COVID and the usual award ceremony did not take place, with the prizes sent directly to the winners' homes.
Still, over 25,000 artists from across Ireland sent in their entries for six age categories, ranging from six and under (Category F) to 16 to 18 (Category A), with Category G reserved for artists of all ages with special educational needs. Full details of all the winners and a gallery of this years and some previous artists' works are available at the Texaco Children's Art website.
The competition is the longest running arts sponsorship in Ireland, with a continuous history back to 1955. Many famous Irish artists and public figures are among the long list of previous winners and highly commended.
In 2020, the overall winner of the competition was Casey Etherton, now 18 years old, a student at Coláiste na Sceilge in Caherciveen, Co. Kerry. His oil painting, 'Kevin in the Pink', earns him €1,500 and high praise from the Final Adjudicator and Chairman of the judging panel, Professor Declan McGonagle. He said the winning entry as “an exceedingly lifelike and sensitive painting in which the subject is caught in a thoughtful moment".
Unlike many of young artists, this was Casey's first entry to the Competition. “My teacher really pushed me to put in something. I was working on a painting project of different people around my town.
“I knew about the Children's Art Competition from First Year. I never really gave entering a thought as there always such great submissions and winners that I never thought I'd be at that level. I still don't think I am, to be honest. I have a feeling that I stole it as there are such great artists who entered this year. But then it is the judges' opinion over mine."
Casey lives in Caherdaniel, a small village, down the road from Kevin, the subject of his painting. “I saw him at a party at my grandparents and seeing him under a really bright light and seeing the contours on his face, I thought it was really interesting and I really wanted to paint him. He was very happy to help out and he and his wife Mary were delighted with the painting."
Casey is drawn to artists such as Francis Bacon. “I did use a lot of red in that painting. At that time I was very interested in the way he worked, how he looked at an anatomy and how exaggerated he made some things seem. I suppose subconsciously, the influences were there."
Looking forward, Casey is putting together a portfolio for art college, where he hopes to study animation. He has prepared all his pieces for his application to Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design + Technology.
The deadline for the next Children's Art Competition is 24 March 2021 and a TV advertising campaign will roll out in the New Year to look for Irish artists of the future.
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.
Petrol near meIn 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."