Key Points

• Marathon’s Los Angeles refinery has supported the Marine Mammal Care Center since 2019, helping strengthen rescue, rehabilitation and education efforts.
• The center credits Marathon’s support with helping to maintain essential rescue and release equipment and expanding hands-on ocean education.
• Employees at the refinery value the collaboration for its impact on their community, local wildlife and future generations.

For the better part of six years, Marathon’s Los Angeles refinery has proudly supported the Marine Mammal Care Center, helping make it possible for the organization to carry out its critically important work of rescuing and rehabilitating stranded and injured marine mammals, while also opening the door for thousands of students to experience the ocean through meaningful, hands-on learning.

The Marine Mammal Care Center was having financial challenges in 2019. Marathon stepped in with a $100,000 gift that helped stabilize operations and ensure the team could continue responding to animals in need. It was a mission the refinery team believed in from the start and continues to champion today.

“Our long-term partnership with Marathon has meant the world to us and to the patients we serve,” said John Warner, CEO of the Marine Mammal Care Center. “Now, in 2025, we are going through another crisis caused by an algae bloom that is stranding hundreds of animals. We are able to respond because of the support that began when Marathon stepped up in 2019.”

Today, the center rescues more marine mammals per mile of coastline in Los Angeles County than any other organization in the country. For a nonprofit, it takes significant resources to keep this level of work going, and community support remains essential to ensuring the center can continue responding when animals need help most.

“We can’t do this without support from the community and strong, passionate partners like Marathon,” said Dave Bader, Marine Mammal Care Center Chief Operations and Education Officer. “Their support helps us reach animals that are sick or injured, bring them back for care and return them to the ocean with a second chance at life.”

Marathon’s support has also funded vehicles and equipment the center needs for rescue and release work. The center also credits that support with strengthening its educational programming, helping more young people connect with their local oceans and understanding why protecting them matters.

“We need to and can prove that commerce and conservation can and should thrive together into the future,” Warner said. “We are grateful for Marathon’s continued partnership and look forward to the impact we can achieve together.”

For employees at the refinery, it represents more than volunteer hours or financial support. It reflects the shared purpose and pride they feel in helping protect their community and the coastline they call home.

“Our people care deeply about this cause, and for many on our team, it is personal,” said Erlend Myhre, VP Refining at the Los Angeles refinery. “We value the work the center does because it protects our oceans and the wildlife that make this coastline special. It also gives the next generation meaningful opportunities to learn and connect. We are proud to support a partner that has such a positive impact.”