Cincinnati Renewable Fuels team builds unique bond with local school
Community News
Cincinnati, Ohio, Foundation- Marathon Petroleum’s Cincinnati, Ohio, pretreatment facility continues to grow its unique bond with the Oyler School in Cincinnati’s Lower Price Hill neighborhood.
- The partnership started in 2016 when a group of Marathon employees adopted the school’s first-grade class, and then grew over the years.
- Employees from Marathon volunteer their time throughout the school year, which has included, holiday get-togethers, science projects, gardening, and field trips to local attractions.
It’s a relationship not even a global pandemic could end. Employees from Marathon Petroleum’s Cincinnati, Ohio, pretreatment facility and students at the Oyler School in Cincinnati’s Lower Price Hill neighborhood have completed another school year working together.
A Community Learning Center (CLC) school, Oyler serves students in grades preschool through grade 12 and is part of the Cincinnati Public Schools’ Career and Workforce Readiness Program that provides its students with access to real-world lessons, including career exploration, and services to support their journey to becoming responsible and productive members of society.
Doug Wolterman, a Refining Engineer at Marathon Petroleum, said the facility established its partnership with the school in 2016 by adopting a class of first graders every year until a brief pause in 2020 due to COVID. But even then, employees did their best to interact virtually with students, until they were able to safely resume in-person activities during the 2021-2022 school year.
We feel very strongly about this program. It’s why we’ve continued to partner with Oyler for all these years.”
“We feel very strongly about this program. It’s why we’ve continued to partner with Oyler for all these years,” said Wolterman. “Being able to witness that impact firsthand and spend quality time with some of the school's youngest students has been a truly rewarding experience for our entire team.”
Over the years, this special bond has included holiday get-togethers, science projects, gardening, card-making for local senior citizens, and a trip to the Newport Aquarium every spring to mark the end of the school year.
“We cannot thank Marathon and their team from Cincinnati enough for going above and beyond every year to make this such an enjoyable experience for our kids,” said Tiffaney Hamm, CLC’s Enrichment Program Manager. “From their time to the genuine care they show our kids, it makes it so much more special.”
Don’t expect this special bond to end anytime soon, Wolterman said. They are already in talks with CLC to adopt another class for the upcoming school year.
In addition to preparing its students to become the leaders of tomorrow, the Oyler School also provides afterschool programs, mentoring/tutoring programs, free onsite dental services and much more.