Community
Since our founding in 1991, SolArc and our people have been active in the communities where we work and live, supporting charitable organizations and volunteering our time, talents and technology to worthy causes and organizations. The following are just a few recent examples of our community involvement.
Ongoing support for the Carl McCain Memorial Foundation, an organization that provides financial grants to or on behalf of individuals and families who work or have worked in the energy industry and are financially overburdened by healthcare expenses. (more)
At its 2009 ASCENT Conference, SolArc continued its yearly support of the Carl McCain Memorial Foundation with its 8th consecutive financial contribution.
Also in 2009, SolArc sponsored and participated in the Foundation's annual charity cookoff, with a team competing as the SolArc Rock 'N Roll Ice Cream Shop.
SolArc is sponsoring and will participate in the 2010 Christopher’s Heart Fun Run. (more)
The February 6 run will start in Houston’s Sam Houston Park, and proceeds will benefit the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.
In 2009, SolArc raised more than $3,600 for the UMDF and sponsored last year’s fun run, contributing to nearly $78,000 in total money raised at the event. We hope to raise even more in 2010. Mitochondrial Disease is a very serious condition that has no cure and urgently needs more research. Join SolArc in our effort to help find better treatments and, ultimately, a cure!
Click here to sign up for the run.
Click here to pledge a donation.
SolArc employees brightened the holidays for a lot of children at Anderson Elementary school in Tulsa once again in 2009. More than 48 students from this economically challenged neighborhood were able to take home a present that they might not have otherwise had thanks to the SolArc teams’ generosity. (more)
Happy Holidays to Anderson School from SolArc!
Each year SolArc sponsors the GoodTime Cookers Bar-B-Que Cookoff team at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. (more)
Admission tickets to the grounds and the cook-off tent were made available to the Friends of SolArc. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest occurs each year in February and continually entertains more than 210,000 visitors. Barbeque fans from far and wide follow the sweet aroma of good Texas barbeque to Reliant Park in Houston where they are treated to barbeque in The Chuck Wagon and entertained at the free music stage where in previous years acts like Max Stalling, Gary P. Nunn, Loverboy, HoneyBrowne and Cowboy Mouth perform.
Proceeds from the event are used to support the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo community and educational activities. Since 1932, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has committed more than $235 million to the youth of Texas. It is the driving force fro promoting Western heritage in the nation’s forth largest city. With the help of 21,000 volunteers, the Show is the world’s largest livestock show and richest regular-season PRCA rodeo and on of the world’s most significant concert venues.
Official sponsor of the Chevron Houston Marathon, which helped raise $1.5 million for 47 local and national nonprofit organizations. (more)
What happens when you put 25,000 runners, 5,000 volunteers, 200,000 spectators and hundreds of sponsor companies together for a day? You raise $1.5 million dollars for charity, in ONE day!
That's the amount the 2009 Houston Marathon will collect and distribute among 47 local and national charitable organizations. In addition to the record-breaking donations, this year's marathon featured a new course record with this year’s winner beating the 20-year-old mark by more than 2 minutes.
"We are very fortunate, especially in light of the current economic challenge facing our country, to have the ongoing support of companies that share our passion for this great event," said Steve Karpas, managing director of the Houston Marathon. "We simply could not accomplish this world-class event without the help of our sponsors."
According to Eric Johnson, vice president of marketing at SolArc and a marathon runner, "SolArc is committed to supporting the communities where we live and work. In addition to our corporate sponsorship, we also had employees and customers participating the marathon, half marathon and 5K run, or who volunteered or sponsored activities during the events. The oil and gas community in Houston has really embraced this event and we're glad to play an important role in its success."
The Chevron Houston Marathon (and related events) is the largest annual single-day sporting event in Houston and is ranked among the top five marathons in the United States by Ultimate Guide to Marathons for fastest course, organization and crowd support. The event attracts participants from all 50 states and more than 20 countries. SolArc is pleased to be part of this outstanding event that promotes a healthy lifestyle for participants and raises funds to support thousands of our neighbors in the community.
Annual fundraising support for United Way, resulting in a contribution of more than $21,000 with employee donations and the company's matching funds. (more)
SolArc's 2008 annual fundraising activities for the Tulsa Area United Way concluded in December. The effort, including both employee donations and the company's matching funds, resulted in a contribution of more than $21,000. This year's fundraising drive was headed up by Scott Creed, VP of Strategic Solutions for SolArc.
In total, the Tulsa Area United Way fundraising drive for 2008 raised nearly $24 million dollars.
Scott Creed was grateful for all who contributed: "Thanks to the generosity of our SolArc employees, our final tally for contributions beat our goal and last year's totals. This was a fantastic effort by everyone who contributed, and I'm sure it will be very much appreciated by everyone in our community who will be helped as a result."
SolArc continued its support for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program in 2009. (more)
Once again, the holidays were a little more special for deserving kids across the country, thanks to the Toys for Tots program. Started in 1947, the program celebrated its 62nd annual campaign in 2009.
In 2009, SolArc continued to sponsor and support Toys for Tots in Houston and Tulsa, raising funds and donating toys to the program. Several U.S. Marine Corps Reserve members attended SolArc holiday parties to accept lots of new toys and cash for the program, all donated by SolArc employees.
Marine Toys for Tots Foundation
Participation in the Tulsa Partners in Education Program that provides elementary school students with much-needed school supplies and meals. (more)
In 2008, SolArc employees took the second-grade students (three classes) at Anderson Elementary School in Tulsa under their wings through the Partners In Education Program. This is the second year that the SolArc office has participated in the program.
SolArc and our employees in Tulsa provide the classes with needed school supplies each month. In December, the SolArc employees also provided the students (56) with their own Christmas gifts.
Many of the students at Anderson are from low-income families, and the supplies and Christmas gifts are very much appreciated by the students. Many of them tell our SolArc employees it is like Christmas every time they visit the school with additional supplies. Thank you notes were also written to SolArc (click for PDF) in response to the donations.
The school receives grants that help with supplies, but the school unfortunately lost a grant to provide food assistance for the students. Some students don't always have breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, so the school is working hard to ensure they provide them with breakfast, lunch and a snack before they go for the day.
Ms. Anderson, the principal of the school, also receives assistance to help provide students with bags of groceries. Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough for each student to take groceries home for meals, and she has to decide which students need it most. So the next activity for the SolArc team is to provide groceries for our January donation.
Tulsa Partners in Education Program
Support for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life program, providing donations to fund much needed education and research into treatments and a cure for cancer. (more)
