From warm clothes to hot meals, Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) employees are making a difference in our communities and positively impacting the lives of others this holiday season. Read how some employees dedicated their time and resources.  

Ashland, Kentucky

MPC’s Transport and Rail team in Ashland, Kentucky, hosted its annual Christmas party to support children attending the Hillcrest-Bruce Mission preschool. The Leach garage team, refinery employees and local businesses provided toys, winter essentials and fun. The event, hosted for 15 years by Leach, features Santa (played by retired mechanic Tony Morrison), Buddy the Elf (played by transport driver Daun Flannery), and the Grinch (played by transport driver John Nolan), delighting kids with songs, gifts and treats like pizza and cupcakes.

Canton, Ohio

Employees from our Canton refinery participated in the Feed Kids First annual holiday food drive. This initiative, organized by the nonprofit, aims to ensure children have immediate access to food by partnering with local schools and community resources to address food insecurity. The Canton refinery team contributed meal boxes for students to take home during the two-week holiday break, continuing their tradition of making a meaningful impact in the community.

In addition, employees from the Canton refinery sponsored 61 foster children from Encourage Foster Care (formerly known as the Christian Children’s Home of Ohio). Employees fulfilled the children’s wish lists, wrapped their gifts and presented them during the first week of December.

Catlettsburg, Kentucky

Employees from our Catlettsburg refinery, led by the Security Department, delivered a truckload of gifts to the Catlettsburg Family Resource Center this holiday season. The team sponsored 28 families and 52 children, filling bags and boxes with toys and other surprises. Known for their generosity, Catlettsburg employees once again went above and beyond to support local children. The Family Resource Center expressed heartfelt thanks for their efforts.

More than 30 employees and their families volunteered to ring the bell for the Salvation Army in nearby Cannonsburg, Kentucky. Jamie Truett, Engineering Manager and Salvation Army board member, organized the event for the group to help fill kettles each day while spreading holiday cheer.

Over 100 employees and family members joined the annual Ashland, Kentucky, Christmas Parade, walking or riding on two MPC fire trucks and handing out candy.

Claysville, Pennsylvania

Employees from MPLX Liberty Pipeline, Liberty Compression, the Houston Plant and the Harmon Creek Plant partnered with the Claysville volunteer fire department to provide Christmas gifts for underprivileged children in the area. 

Denver, Colorado

Employees at our Denver office volunteered with the Children’s Hospital Colorado in partnership with Make-A-Wish®. Employees helped children shop and wrap gifts for their family members at the Make-A-Wish store at the hospital.

Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit refinery supported 20 Families, including 62 children, for this year’s Adopt-A-Family holiday drive. Each department and complex adopted up to four families, checked off items on their Christmas wish list and supported parents, meeting their needs for toiletries, home essentials and gift cards to help with their holiday meals. Departments individually wrapped each gift and personally delivered presents to the families a week before Christmas. The Maintenance department gave gifts to several foster children from a local nonprofit service organization. The refinery also held a toy drive for Motts Children's hospital and collected 460 toys for patients.

East Sparta, Ohio

Marathon Pipe Line employees in the East Sparta Area donated toys to the Helping Hands Network for children whose families need a little support this holiday season. Each child who signed up received an extra gift chosen by their parent or guardian. This year, Helping Hands had 110 children of all ages signed up.

El Paso, Texas

More than 20 employees and interns from our El Paso refinery supported the Salvation Army by volunteering as bell ringers next to one of its iconic red kettles. The volunteers included intern Elizabeth Morales and employees Mike Vasquez and Trevor Bass. The El Paso refinery’s fire department helped create holiday cheer by decorating a pumper truck to drive in the city’s annual WinterFest parade. 

Findlay, Ohio

Employees in our Strategy and Business Development and Law organization in Findlay sponsored four families from the Salvation Army’s Adopt-A-Family program. They bought gifts for members of these families.

Garyville, Louisiana

 

Employees and contractors from the Garyville refinery sent Louisiana-themed care packages to military members stationed overseas as part of the annual Support Our Troops campaign. This year, 504 packages were delivered with help from key suppliers. Handmade cards from St. John the Baptist Parish students brought a touch of home to troops for the holidays.

 

Sponsored by the refinery’s Veterans Employee Network Group, Garyville refinery employees participated in the local Toys for Tots drive, collecting over 200 toys to ensure area children have a gift to open on Christmas Day. Their generosity brought holiday cheer to families in need, continuing the refinery’s tradition of supporting its community.

Galveston Bay, Texas

Employee volunteers from our Galveston Bay refinery brought festive spirit to The Independence Village, an assisted living facility in Texas City, by helping put up holiday lights. The facility shared their gratitude, saying, “Your kindness truly lights up not just the building but also the hearts of everyone in our community. We’re grateful for everything you do and proud to celebrate this bright and joyful season together.”

The refinery's Process Safety Management team continued its holiday tradition of bringing joy and generosity to the residents of The Independence Village. This year, the team and some of their family members joined residents for a memorable evening playing bingo and having fun.

Galveston Bay employees also demonstrated their holiday spirit through The Salvation Army Angel Tree program. They collected enough toys to brighten the holidays for 50 local children in the Galveston County area.

Kingfisher, Oklahoma

Employees from our MPLX Gathering & Processing field office in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, delivered gifts to Dover Public School just in time for the holidays. The employees helped provide gifts for seven families, including 20 children.

Los Angeles, California

 

This holiday season, employees from MPC’s Los Angeles refinery came together to spread joy and make a difference in their community through several meaningful initiatives.

 

The refinery’s Asian Employee Network Group partnered with Century Villages at Cabrillo to host a Winter Festival for its 1,500 tenants, including over 400 children. They provided more than 100 toys for the festival’s Toy Shop. The Black Employee Network Group also contributed to the festivities by participating in the Boys & Girls Club of Carson's Miracle on Main Street toy giveaway. Employees further extended their holiday spirit by collecting and distributing toys at Garfield Elementary School in Long Beach. The refinery continued its long-standing Adopt-A-Family tradition, a cornerstone of its holiday giving efforts for over two decades.

 

Long Beach, California

Our Direct Dealer team in Long Beach, California, volunteered to help foster families and low-income families select gifts for their children through Operation Santa Claus in Santa Ana, California. Other team members helped local nonprofits fulfill requests from their wish lists at the event.

Nashville, Tennessee

The Nashville terminals recently awarded Christmas for Kids with a $2,500 local giving grant. This organization annually helps provide underprivileged children the opportunity to shop for themselves for Christmas. Nashville terminals have been involved with the organization since 2007. MPC employees are involved as chaperones for the children during the shopping event. The donation ensured 14 children were able to shop with a chaperone.

Phoenix, Arizona

Our Phoenix Fuel Fleet participated in the Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing and donation event. Fleet Supervisor Tyler Knowlton and his family organized the event for MPC drivers to volunteer. Together they packed 30 shoeboxes that will be delivered by Operation Christmas Child to children around the world.

Robinson, Illinois

Employees from our refinery in Robinson, Illinois, continued a favorite holiday tradition by sponsoring and serving the Christmas meal for the Lawrence Crawford Association for Exceptional Citizens. Employees also brought extra holiday cheer with Christmas karaoke and gifts for attendees and staff.

San Antonio, Texas

 

On Saturday, Dec. 14, Wreaths Across America Day, more than 40 members of MPC’s HONOR Veterans Employee Network Group in San Antonio volunteered to lay remembrance wreaths at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. They placed over 100 wreaths, honoring our country’s fallen heroes and our fallen family members, in the act of saying the name of each and every veteran aloud.

“Volunteering for Wreaths Across America is a way for me to show my family members who served and all the veterans and those currently serving that we care for them, and we honor and remember their sacrifice,” said Susan Leavitt, Marathon Lead Supply & Distribution Coordinator.

Employees from the San Antonio office also supported The Salvation Army Angel Tree. Employees adopted 100 children and 25 senior citizens. They donated toys, clothing and other gifts, including 21 bikes. Employees also volunteered to help The Salvation Army sort and give out gifts at the distribution warehouse. Twenty-four employees volunteered for four-hour shifts, equal to 96 hours of volunteer time over the two days.

St. Paul Park, Minnesota

 Employees from our St. Paul Park, Minnesota, refinery came together this holiday season to give back to their community. The refinery’s Women’s Employee Network Group and Veteran Employee Network Group sponsored a Toys for Tots collection, gathering over 76 toy donations from employees for children. The Women’s Employee Network Group also organized a Giving Tree drive to collect essential toiletry items, such as toothbrushes, shampoo, deodorant and diapers, for a local women and children's shelter in the greater St. Paul community. The donations were delivered in December on behalf of the refinery.

Washington County, Pennsylvania

MPLX employees from West Virginia and Pennsylvania volunteered with Burgettstown School District to pack boost bags for 39 students who experience food insecurity at home. Earlier this year, MPLX partnered with Range Resources and each company donated $2,500 to assist with food for this program. In December, employees volunteered to pack boxes to provide 39 students with food to ensure they didn’t go hungry during the Christmas break from school.