Detroit RefineryDetroit Refinery

Detroit Refinery Community Site

Celebrating 60 Years in our Community

Detroit refinery’s Motor City Golf Classic benefits two local nonprofits

DM10585_0211
DM10585_0211
DM10585_0211
DM10585_0035
DM10585_0035
DM10585_0035
DM10585_0028
DM10585_0028
DM10585_0028
DM10585_0063
DM10585_0063
DM10585_0063
DM10585_0088
DM10585_0088
DM10585_0088
DM10585_0197
DM10585_0197
DM10585_0197

The Detroit refinery hosted its 11th annual Motor City Golf Classic to benefit Habitat for Humanity Detroit. There were 238 golfers and 53 business partners at the event that raised more than $200,000 for the organization’s two-year critical home repair program. 

“The Motor City Classic at Detroit’s Rouge Park golf course was a great reminder of how committed our employees and business partners are to the local community surrounding MPC’s Detroit Refinery,” said John Stefko, General Manager of the Detroit refinery. “Their hard work and donations have provided Habitat for Humanity Detroit with $219,000 to provide critical repairs for at least 15 local family homes in 2023. I am proud to watch the Detroit refinery family move our community forward.” 

In addition to the money raised for Habitat for Humanity, the 50/50 raffle provided a $2,200 donation to First Tee – Greater Detroit, which teaches local Detroit youth how to play golf and along with life and leadership skills.  

Detroit youth explore real-world opportunities with Marathon Petroleum

A six-week program at Marathon Petroleum’s Detroit refinery is opening the eyes of students in two youth programs and may open the doors to future career opportunities.  

Grow Detroit Young Talent (GDYT) and Detroit Youth Service Corps (DYSC) programs had a combined 64 participants at the refinery over the summer. The group was able to experience firsthand and even contribute to work at the facility. They also learned soft skills to apply to their future careers. 

“This was definitely a great experience,” said Celeste Salazar, 22, studying Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State. “This was more hands on than some other companies offer.” 

The refinery’s firefighters gave the participants a lesson in emergency response.
Students learned how to do maintenance on one of the refinery vehicles.
The participants spent the summer learning about the different departments at the refinery, covering refining 101, tech services, safety, maintenance, engineering and operations. Under supervision, they learned how to change the oil on the refinery vehicles, how to weld pipes, and how engineers plan out their projects. They learned the meaning of hazard symbols and how the fire department members are specifically trained to respond to different emergencies.

“We worked together as a group on a project converting 9,000 files into an archive system for easy searching,” said Javonte Jackson, 18, Grand Valley State University. “During the assignment, we found an easier way to complete the conversions. It was a real job that will help other employees at the refinery in the planning process.” 

Operations Excellence Trainer Matt Johnson was impressed with the students from GDYT who took part in his operations overview session.  

“They were very engaged and curious and willing to learn,” said Johnson. “They were impressed with the focus on safety that we have here at Marathon. They heard it in every session. I think it really changed their perspective about what we do here and how we do it.” 

The participants also volunteered with refinery employees and contractors for two Neighbors Helping Neighbors home and lawn maintenance events hosted by the refinery. Some of the participants helped distribute healthy home kits and installed air filters for community members. They also received professional headshots to use on their LinkedIn profiles and sat for mock interviews with refinery leaders.  

“It was my first time to go through an actual interview,” said Ashleigh Wright, 18, University of Michigan – Dearborn. “We got professional resume reviews. After the interview, I received great feedback that will really help me succeed.”  

The participants said that even though their college majors didn’t all align with the departments at the refinery, they each learned something that they’ll keep with them forever.  

“I’m studying psychology, a pre-med track,” said Jackson. “During Engineering Week, Kathy in Document Controls was dropping life knowledge on us. She was sharing how to handle actual situations in life. How to act in the workplace. It was meaningful on a personal level.”

Shift Foreman Bryan Cheney meets with one of the students during the mock interview and resume review session.

During the final week of the program, the Mayor of Detroit, Mike Duggan visited the students during a session at the Kemeny Recreation Center near the refinery. The students shared what they worked on during the summer and gave the mayor some ideas to continue making improvements in their neighborhoods and the city overall.  

Mayor Mike Duggan of Detroit visits with the participants at the Kemeny Recreation Center.

“The ideas were flowing,” said Corporate Social Responsibility Representative BreAnna Lockhart, who oversees the program at the refinery. “It was great to see them connect and really open up. These students have grown so much over the summer, and I look forward to seeing what they achieve after graduation.” 

GDYT is a citywide summer jobs program in Detroit that trains and employs young adults ages 14-24, though participants at the refinery are age 18 and over. Wayne State University’s DYSC program also employs young adults ages 17-24 and provides them with opportunities to develop life and career skills and give back to the community. The Detroit refinery supports both initiatives through grants and its workforce development program.  

“It makes me feel really good to know that we are helping invest in these young people who are from Detroit in a very real and impactful way,” said Johnson. “They truly appreciated the employees investing their time into their growth on a personal level, giving them life experiences and going out of their way to talk to them.” 

Back to School Blitz 2022

On September 10th, Detroit Refinery held a Back to School Blitz to celebrate the new school year.  This was the biggest “Fueling Detroit” event yet – with over 700 residents in attendance.  School supplies were passed out until we ran out, around 100 kids were able to receive free haircuts and hairstyles, over 500 free meals were served, over 200 feminine care kits were distributed, and 10 laptops were given out to residents (thanks to Human IT!!) and countless resources were distributed through our many nonprofit partners that were in attendance! We also had some fun with carnival rides, dessert trucks, games, and music.

Most importantly, this event was to kick off our new partnership with the Detroit Police Athletic League, which will be bringing its programming to Kemeny Recreation through one of our community investment grants.  We currently have over 300 local youth from 48217, Ecorse and River Rouge signed up with interest in one of the many programs that will be coming to the local recreation center this school year (including computer coding, EcoTek science, & a wide array of sports offerings).

Girls in Engineering tours Detroit refinery

Rising 7th graders from the Girls in Engineering Academy (GEA) in Detroit have first-hand knowledge of the energy industry after a tour of Marathon Petroleum’s Detroit refinery and met with some of the women who work there.  

 

The Women’s employee network chapter at the Detroit refinery hosted the field trip in July for students participating in the GEA summer program, created by the Engineering Society of Detroit. GEA was developed to prepare and encourage middle school girls, particularly students from Detroit, to enter college and study engineering. Every week, the girls take field trips to local companies to get exposure to different industries. This was the academy’s first time visiting the Detroit refinery.  

 

The girls learned about the refinery and saw samples of crude oil, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and asphalt. Refinery leaders took the students on a driving tour of the plant while they completed a scavenger hunt. They heard about different jobs held by women working at the refinery during a career panel. Volunteers coached the girls through an activity building molecules using marshmallows and toothpicks. 

 

“On the tour group I was with, the girls seemed most excited about the salt mine, seeing where the trucks come to load up the charcoal, Marathon staff working on one of the pipes and learning that people were out there working on even the hottest and coldest days,” said Alexandra Lofton, Program Coordinator, Girls in Engineering Academy. “They also loved the marshmallow activity of course even though they haven’t taken chemistry yet. They will be taking that class with us next year, and we will be sure to remind them of that activity!” 

Detroit neighbors find a healthy path forward

A vegan enthusiast who loves to run found herself inspired to find more ways to stay healthy. In June, health advocate and business owner Asia Rawls hosted a booth at the Health and Fitness Fair at the Kemeny Recreation Center in Detroit. She regularly attends health events in the city to learn and educate others and said this fair was one of the best she’s ever experienced.

“It felt great to immerse myself in Southwest Detroit and meet new faces. I couldn’t think of a better way to motivate and celebrate health and fitness for all ages, genders, and ethnicities,” said Rawls, owner of Brown Bambi, a health and fitness business that hosts health classes and pop-up exhibits. “It meets the mission and vision of a forward city by putting people first. By the end, we were all inspired to live healthier as a community.”

The Health and Fitness Fair sponsored by Marathon Petroleum’s Detroit refinery was part of its Fueling Detroit Event Series. Attendees had the opportunity to visit a dozen health resource organizations that ranged from physical to mental health.

 

Frances Turner grew up in Southwest Detroit and said after losing several relatives to health issues like heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and colon cancer, she realize

d that life cannot be taken for granted.

“I decided to attend the health fair, because I believe knowledge is very important,” said Turner. “It is the perfect place to gain resources and explore healthy alternatives. It is also nice to get out into the community and network with like-minded neighbors.”

Turner took her 16-year-old son with her, and they both participated in yoga and meditation classes.

“I learned yoga positions that I can do at home. The instructors were very thorough, and I intend to continue those exercises,” said Turner. “I encourage everyone to catch the next health event. You’ll have a good time and enrich your lifestyle.”

The Detroit refinery brought together people and organizations to teach healthy eating and cooking classes, two group fitness classes and a sound meditation session that had residents feeling mentally refreshed. All residents in attendance were offered free fresh produce boxes from Forgotten Harvest and a warm meal home from the 48217 food truck, Clean Street Food, and fresh squeezed juice from Southwest Detroit small business El ArteSano Juice and Café Bar. The refinery’s women’s employee network chapter partnered with Helping Women Period to pass out free feminine hygiene products.

“There is so much potential for this to grow bigger,” said Rawls. “I look forward to more events like this in the future.”

 

Marathon Petroleum wraps successful Fueling Detroit Event Series

Marathon Petroleum is committed to supporting the community surrounding our Detroit refinery, specifically the people living in the 48217 zip code. From June to October, the refinery hosted the Fueling Detroit Event Series, four community events that included a family movie night, the Southwest Detroit Farmers Market, Back to School Blitz, and the Health and Harvest Fair. The events were held at the Kemeny Recreation Center and nearly 250 guests attended each one.  

 

In October, organizations offered free immunizations for children, health screenings for adults, information about mental health services and overdose prevention.  Attendees were able to join free workout classes held during the event. The Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL) hosted mini tutorials for soccer, cheerleading and drone programming.  

 

“This unique event series brings the community together in multiple ways. It’s supporting local businesses, providing family resources, health services, and education materials. And it’s a lot of fun to get together with our neighbors,” said BreAnna Lockhart, Community Relations Representative with Marathon Petroleum. “I’m really excited about what we have planned for next year.”  

 

The Back to School Blitz in September featured free school supplies for everyone who attended and free food from local restaurants Two Fat Boys & a Grill and Motown Dawg Slingers. Kids enjoyed carnival rides, music, and special guest Smiley the Clown, a Detroit legend. The refinery’s community partners, Wayne Metro, Mark Twain Elementary and Starfish Family Services, were on hand to provide resources to parents.  

 

The refinery is scheduling events for 2022, which will include a financial literacy lunch and learn with community partner Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency (Wayne Metro), a non-profit organization serving low-and moderate-income residents throughout Wayne County.