MANILA, Philippines – In anticipation of the needs of incoming Grades 11 and 12 in 2016 for public schools, Caltex is helping thousands of public high school students in Metro Manila see their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) projects come alive through the Caltex Fuel Your School (FYS) program launched today in Caltex Mabini station.
“From June 15 to July 15, 2015, we will donate one peso (P1) for every 4-liter fuel purchase made by motorists at participating Caltex stations in Metro Manila. We aim to hit P5 million in this campaign month. The donation will then be turned over to our project partner American Chamber Foundation of the Philippines (ACFP) that is tasked to qualify submitted project proposals as well as the purchase of qualified STEM classroom projects,” announced Peter Morris, country chairman of Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI).
On the other hand, the Department of Education of the Philippines as FYS project partner shortlisted the 33 highest-need public senior high schools in Metro Manila as beneficiaries qualified to receive a maximum of P150,000 per school in STEM classroom materials.
“Caltex Fuel Your School strongly reflects our company’s continued commitment to education. I believe if you take a combination of quality school equipment, passionate teachers, and motivated students, that’s when education becomes very powerful. Through this project, we hope to further empower the teachers and spur the students’ interest to help them excel in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics,” adds Raissa Bautista, CPI manager for Policy, Government & Public Affairs.
“This program is a most welcome partnership with Caltex considering that the Philippines is about to implement the senior high school program next year where STEM is given equal importance along with other tracks. The donation answers our need for additional equipment to give adequate training and preparation to our students,” said DepEd Regional Director for NCR Luz Almeda.
FYS project partners estimate that at least 700 teachers and 9,000 students from the senior-ready public schools will benefit from the FYS program.
Driving FYS through Social Media
Aside from supporting the program via fueling at Caltex, the FYS partners also invite the public to help the schools by viewing and liking their favorite schools’ qualified projects as posted on the Caltex Philippines Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CaltexPhilippines or via www.caltexfuelyourschoolph.com . The FYS leaderboard in the website will be regularly updated to reflect ranking of the projects that generated the most to least likes. Projects will be funded in the order of their July 15 leaderboard rank. The top three projects with the most number of fan likes at the end of the FYS campaign will each receive an additional brand new laptop as bonus prize.
The program also encourages social media users to help the schools get their STEM wish list by promoting their projects online. Chevron, for instance, has an ongoing FYS awareness volunteer campaign among its employees, retailers and other business partners by urging them to create selfies and groupies using FYS props and posting them as their Facebook profile photos during the FYS campaign period and sending the FYS PH link so their own FB friends can also vote.
“It has been one of my dreams to see my students in a well-equipped laboratory room where they conduct experiments, manipulate the microscopes and discuss their findings. I’m just so glad this can become a reality through Caltex Fuel Your School,” said Cecilia Santiago, science teacher from M. Araullo High School in Manila.
ACF President, Edwin Feist shared “Caltex Fuel Your School is a wonderful program that helps bright and talented students who do not have sufficient funds to support themselves. We’re certainly delighted to work with Chevron in this innovative campaign to promote STEM education to local schools where assistance is highly needed,”
Caltex Fuel Your School is part of Chevron’s Energy for Learning Initiative, which supports educational programs that create opportunities for individuals to acquire new knowledge, gain new skills and be exposed to different ways of thinking.
For more information about Caltex Fuel Your School, visit http://www.caltex.com/ph/fuelyourschool or contact the FYS hotline at 399-2505. Vote and help promote a FYS classroom project via Caltex Philippines Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CaltexPhilippines.