Patrick Southwick, president of Jiffy Lube International, Inc., is passionate about giving back. When looking to bring his team together in a meaningful way while making a difference in the Houston community, he reached out to Shell colleagues in US Social Investment to find the perfect activity – planting 30-gallon trees.
“Jiffy Lube is committed to giving back to and investing in the communities in which we work and live – both at a franchisor level as well as a local franchisee level,” said Southwick.
“While I encourage team members to support projects that are meaningful to them personally, I also wanted to coordinate an organization wide effort. Planting trees at Mason Park not only benefits the community but enhances the park and impacts the environment for decades to come.”
A wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, Jiffy Lube International, Inc. worked with non-profit Houston Wilderness, a longtime partner of Shell, to identify a suitable location for the eager volunteers to plant trees.
“Our network of NGOs (non-government organizations) in the 8-county region gives us access to many different conservation projects,” said Deborah January-Bevers, President of Houston Wilderness.
“It just so happened that Trees for Houston was looking to make a difference at Mason Park along Brays Bayou,” she added.
The 52-person Houston team from Jiffy Lube planted over 30 trees at Mason Park. And, along the way, they learned more about each other and teamwork as well as the benefits trees bring to the area.
“These trees will not only make Mason Park more enjoyable for residents, they can help mitigate bayou flooding and serve as habitat for birds and other creatures,” said Marti Powers, Shell Oil Company External Relations Manager US.
“The trees further the goals of Houston Wilderness’s to increase the amount of natural infrastructure in the Gulf-Houston Regional Conservation Plan.”
Learn more about Jiffy Lube community in the Giving Back section of the Jiffy Lube website.