CITGO and C&S Oil Name Indiana University: Books & Beyond Project a Fueling Good Winner

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., May 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Caring about people and helping to improve the quality of their lives is a deeply embedded value of CITGO Petroleum Corporation and its Fueling Good program. Now in its fourth year of rewarding local heroes, the Fueling Good program has assisted more than 200 non-profit organizations in carrying out their vital missions, from caring for the eyes and ears of the underinsured to providing support for families affected by mental illness to protecting valuable water resources.

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CITGO and local Marketer C&S, Incorporated, the owner and operator of the Circle S Food Marts, recognized the Indiana University: Books & Beyond program as a 2012 Winter Fueling Good winner. Books & Beyond, a collaborative service learning project founded at Indiana University, provides reading materials and student mentors from Indiana University to the Kabwende Primary School in Rwanda. It also matches academic mentors from Indiana University with at-risk middle and high school students from the TEAM Charter Schools in Newark, N.J.

The Fueling Good award will help fund two trips from Bloomington to Newark so that student volunteers can connect with the children they are mentoring and will also allow the Indiana University students to dedicate more funds to the production and delivery of reading materials to the students in Rwanda.

"Thanks to CITGO, C&S Inc. and the Fueling Good program, our team of fundraisers will be able to focus on raising money to cover the cost of printing and shipping books to the students at Kabwende and expand our impact on the communities that we serve," said Caitlin Ryan, volunteer student director of the Books & Beyond project. "The Fueling Good prize will also help the team in Indiana connect with our students at the TEAM Schools. It's about 750 miles from Bloomington to Newark, and the $5,000 prize will make that trip much more affordable!"

In addition to the network of support that the program has created for students in the United States, volunteers also work to provide high-quality reading material for the Rwandan students. These books help to foster critical thinking skills by encouraging students to author, illustrate, publish and market an annual cross-cultural anthology of their children's stories, which are inspired by the books they receive from Books & Beyond. These stories are collected and compiled to illustrate how literature can engage youth in a way that helps them reach beyond international and cultural boundaries.

"We are thrilled that this award will help Books & Beyond connect the students in New Jersey to their mentors in Bloomington and also help students in Rwanda," said Jonathan Smith, president of C&S Inc. "By Fueling Good, we believe that we are making connections between these students, both at home and abroad, that will benefit everyone."

Books & Beyond also offers a wide range of supplementary initiatives, including teacher development and curriculum training for staff at the Kabwende Primary School, mentor and pen-pal matching and facilitation, international cross-cultural student exchange opportunities and professional skill building. 

The principles of Fueling Good can be seen in all aspects of the CITGO brand. In fact, since the launch of the program in 2009 CITGO has fueled more than a million miles of good through its support of local heroes like the Books & Beyond Project. During the most recent campaign, nearly 1,700 charities entered and nearly 151,000 votes were cast to help determine the current round of Fueling Good winners.

Registration for the next Fueling Good program will open for all 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations within the CITGO marketing area on Sept. 4, 2012. To enter for a chance to win up to $5,000 in CITGO Gift Cards or to learn how CITGO and local organizations are making a difference, visit www.FuelingGood.com. For regular updates and to join the conversation, "Like" CITGO Fueling Good at www.Facebook.com/CITGOFuelingGood and view videos of past winners at www.youtube.com/CITGOFuelingGood.

CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information visit www.CITGO.com.

SOURCE CITGO Petroleum Corporation