At any given moment, Marathon Oil Corporation employees are hard at work on various tasks, projects and activities – that have nothing to do with oil and natural gas.
That’s because volunteerism is as important as the bottom line to the 122-year-old multinational oil company based in Houston.
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| Paul Weeditz, Public Affairs General Manager at Marathon Oil |
"Our leadership embraces the notion of volunteerism and the value that it brings to the community," says Paul Weeditz, Public Affairs General Manager. "It's a good complement to any financial giving that we provide. Our departmental leaders also view volunteerism as an opportunity to build teamwork among their staffs. We've had entire departments decide to embrace a particular cause, and then they go out and dedicate their time and talents to make a difference."
Marathon has about 2,000 employees and contractors in the greater Houston region, and Neighborhood Centers has been the beneficiary of one of those team-building exercises. A group of volunteers did the demolition work on the office space that now houses our Community Development Credit Union in Gulfton/Sharpstown, saving us thousands of dollars in construction costs.
Aside from the projects themselves, Weeditz sees volunteerism as providing great leadership development opportunities for employees who are moving up into higher and higher levels of responsibility at the company. He says a connection to the community is absolutely essential to be an exemplary corporate leader in the fourth largest city in the country, regardless of your business skills.
According to Weeditz, Marathon is a significant supporter of Neighborhood Centers for two reasons. One is that our programs are well-aligned with Marathon’s philanthropic interests in the areas of education, health and human services, and supporting communities. The other is our approach to working with the neighbors we serve instead of doing things for them.
"Neighborhood Centers has such an outstanding track record of really focusing its energies toward benefiting those who are in need," Weeditz says. "One of the things that resonates for me is the approach that you take, which is to create a foundation for people to create a better life for themselves. It’s not simply distributing money but providing resources in a way that enables them to create a better future for themselves and their families, whether it’s through jobs, better financial management or through educational opportunities."