PATCH is struggling to deal with the safety requirements of working safely together and dealing with the public. It has temporarily closed two of its sites to concentrate its volunteers and food in three of its bases.
Tracy Olin (pictured, in pink top), PATCH Manager, said, “When Valero called I couldn't believe what I was hearing. We have never received such a large donation, and it's almost half of our total income for last year.
“This will help so much as we've seen such an increase in clients and we've had to change some of the way we do things to make sure all that need to can access our donations. This has all put a financial strain on our work. We cannot thank the staff enough for their continued support."
Stephen Thornton, Manager Public Affairs said, “The shift workers from the Valero Operations Department at Pembroke refinery are delighted to be able to make this donation. PATCH is at the front line in delivering provisions and the Ops team have collectively decided to donate towards helping families who are disadvantaged in our local community. We are all in this together and everyone is keen to help. The health and safety of our communities come first for us and we stand side by side and shoulder to shoulder with everyone."
As a company that is committed to supporting the communities in which it works, Valero will be helping a number of frontline charities during this difficult time. Valero will be providing financial assistance including an amount of free Texaco fuel to FareShare, Age UK, The Trussell Trust and the East End Emergency Fund. Valero's Pembroke refinery are also giving funding to support activities in their local community, including PPE to local clinics.
FareShare is a UK-wide network of charitable food re-distributors, made up of 17 independent organisations. Together they take good quality surplus food from across the food industry and distribute it to almost 11,000 frontline charities and community groups.
Age UK is the country's leading charity for older people, providing vital services for those who have no one to turn to. We exist to help older people when they need us the most. We are in urgent need of funding to keep our vital national and local services open during this – a time when the most vulnerable older people need us more than ever.
The Trussell Trust supports over 1,200 food bank centres in the UK and Northern Ireland to provide emergency food and practical support to people in , while campaigning for a UK without the need for food banks.
The East End Emergency Fund has been set up by The East End Community Foundation (EECF). Valero has worked with the EECF for many years and the Emergency Fund will be used to support the most needy and vulnerable in London's poorest borough.
Valero, who market fuel in the UK under the Texaco brand, will also support these charities through Texaco's loyalty programme Star Rewards. Star Rewards members will be able to donate their loyalty Points to any of these charities, and all donations will be matched by Valero. For example, a member can donate 250 Points and Valero will double the donation, increasing it to 500 Points which is worth £5. Similarly, a 500 Point donation will be doubled to 1,000 Points and be worth £10 and a 1,000 Point donation will be increased to 2,000 Points / £20.
Valero is a manufacturer and fuel wholesaler that does not own or operate any Texaco service stations, however we are continually looking at ways we can support our retailers and local communities at this difficult time. We continue to encourage respect for the health and wellbeing of others and that government advice on social distancing and sanitisation is followed at all times.
Please continue to stay safe and help those who may need support during this .
Despite the ever-changing situation regarding the response, be assured that Texaco branded service stations in the UK and Ireland remain well supplied and we do not anticipate any impact to fuel supplies.
Our dedicated employees have plans in place to maintain business continuity should impact any of our terminal, pipeline and supply operations. We also have prepared a wider contingency plan that will be actioned as appropriate, should the situation change or if certain government emergency plans are enacted. We continue to maintain regular contact with our contractors and key vendors to closely coordinate commercial operations and ensure the proper resiliency throughout our supply chain.
We continue to follow government advice and are taking all measures to ensure the health of our employees and contractors working in our supply operations.
We are confident that we can continue to satisfy our customers’ needs in these unprecedented circumstances, and as the situation evolves we will keep you updated.
Our sincere best wishes to everyone during this difficult time.
Now is the perfect time to give your car a spring clean after the recent winter months. From muddy puddles to road salt, winter isn't kind to our cars so read our checklist on how to get your car looking back to its best.
Give the exterior of your car a good wash to remove the mud, road salt residue and general grime accumulated over the winter. Or alternatively, save yourself the effort and take it to your local car wash. Don't forget, you can redeem your Star Rewards Points for Texaco vouchers which can be used at Texaco service stations as payment for the car wash as well as for fuel and shop products.
Petrol near meTreat the inside to some TLC. Get rid of all those old receipts, car park tickets and coffee cups accumulated over recent months, put all those loose CDs back in their cases and wipe over the dashboard area to remove any dust.
Give the carpets, including the car mats and underneath them, a good vacuum to remove the multitude of crumbs and dirt likely to be lurking, and if you have children, who knows what you may find hiding, undiscovered for months!
Don't forget to vacuum the car seats too. If you have a dog, they may be your best friend but others might not feel the same when faced with a car seat covered in pet hair.
Whilst the vacuum is out, don't forget to clean the boot as any muddy wellies or football boots are sure to have left a trail of destruction behind them. Swap out any 'winter' items in your boot for optimistic summer necessities like a picnic blanket.
Clean the windows – both inside and out - to get rid of unwanted grime and finger prints from backseat condensation artists.
Valero has recently added a further three new sites to the Texaco brand growing their site numbers in Northern Ireland by over 30% in the last 12 months and further strengthening the company's position in the region.
Having brought DCC's fuel terminal in Belfast to strengthen their supply position in 2018 Valero has been able to offer a more flexible and competitive service for the region's fuel retailers. This has been supported by the appointment of a new sales manager, Samantha Passi to oversee the development of Texaco and reinforce Valero's commitment to Northern Ireland.
Samantha Passi, who joined the Valero team in February 2019 said, "My aim when I started, was to show retailers how committed Valero is to the region and how we want to work with retailers to help them deliver a reliable and more competitive service for their customers. I'm thoroughly pleased we've been able to achieve this and it's fantastic so many retailers have switched over to the Texaco brand. "
One of the latest sites to sign up with Texaco is Hendersons Seagoe Filling Station in Portadown, County Armagh. Owned by Henderson Retail, one of Northern Ireland's largest independent fuel site operators, the filling station used to be under the BP brand for a number of years. Henderson Retail have sold Texaco fuel at their Saintfield Road site in nearby Lisburn since 2014.
Ron Whitten Chief Financial Officer, Henderson Group, said, "Texaco is a trusted fuel brand known for its high quality and performance, and what Valero could offer us in terms of fuel supply reliability and their support team meant switching to the Texaco brand would help us to maximise our site performance."