Marathon gives ‘heart, soul, hands and feet’ to Komen Houston Race for the Cure
Marathon Oil Corp. understands the importance of good corporate citizenship. The thought is that by being responsive to the needs and interests of employees, neighbors, and community stakeholders, the company is able to provide sustainable benefits to the communities in which it operates.
Marathon has long participated in various community efforts and causes, including the Komen Houston Race for the Cure in support of breast cancer awareness, research, and treatment. Prior to 2005, Marathon had given to the cause in $1,000, $2,500, and $5,000 increments. During this time, the company was looking for an organization to get involved with on a grander scale…something that the employees could get behind in hopes of making a tangible difference. It was that year that a Komen Houston Race affiliate approached Marathon about being a presenting partner of the race.
Marathon had found its match. The company signed on to be the local presenting partner until 2009. It also happened to be the year that Eileen Campbell, Marathon’s vice president of human resources was, herself, diagnosed with the disease. The timing of partnership and her diagnosis were purely coincidental, “I wasn’t part of the decision,” she said, but remembers her elation about the decision. “It was such a joy to me,” she said. “I had been pushing for the company to put more into the organization,” she continued.
“Unfortunately, because one in eight women will get breast cancer, nearly everyone has a sister, a friend, a spouse, a grandmother, an aunt, or a cousin that has been affected by breast cancer. And we can’t forget the men. There are over 2,000 men diagnosed with breast cancer every year and 450 of them die. The mortality rate for men is much higher,” Campbell noted.
Last year the Komen foundation raised over $3 million. Marathon was a big part of that. As a presenting partner, the company begins with an initial pledge of $100,000. Add to that the numbers that Marathon employees bring in (over $70,000 in 2007 and over $82,000 at press time for the 2008 race) and the support is undeniable.
Fund raising efforts were strained this year after losing 10 pledging days to Hurricane Ike on top of the current economic conditions, but Campbell stayed positive. “We [the Komen foundation] are now over $2 million,” she noted. At press time, pledges were still coming in before the November 15 deadline.
In addition to the initial contribution and the pledges received, the company completed $65,000 of in-kind printing and supplied goodie bags to every survivor in the race. Even contributions of this sort can grow as they did when Hurricane Katrina forced a change in the race route. Coordinating groups reconvened to rework and reprint race routes. Disseminating the information in time for the race was “a lot of extra work,” Campbell remembered.
In addition to financial support, manpower has grown over the past four years. Support comes from over 250 Marathon employees and continues with over 100 family members, and doesn’t begin and end on race day. “We have an entire team that works on this event from March or April until after the race,” she said. At the time of the interview, the company was planning a team party for members instrumental in directing the Marathon team and volunteer efforts.
All the hard work is rewarded by the impact of their efforts. Of the $3 million raised throughout the Houston community last year, 75 cents of every dollar stayed in the city of Houston and the surrounding counties. The money goes towards education, screening, and treatment for uninsured and underinsured men and women. The other 25 cents was allocated to research. “That’s where my passion comes,” said Campbell, “to find a cure and eradicate this terrible disease.”
“What we can do as a company and as individual employees can make a huge difference in someone’s life. It’s not just the money that Marathon gives, it’s the heart and soul and hands and feet,” Campbell beamed.