If you looked around Stephen M White Middle School at the beginning of the summer, you would have seen an aging school in need of some TLC. However, swing by this week, and you see something completely different: a beautified school, ready to be a center for learning for years to come. Feats such as this one don’t happen every day. A feat like this requires a team with compassion, grit, and vision to step in and lead the charge towards a better community. When it came to this middle school, that team was Andeavor.

Driven by the desire for a cleaner, safer community, Andeavor has been an active sponsor of Sharefest for since 2009. This August, they have continued to show their support by donating $35,000 towards the beautification of Stephen White, facilitating significant, tangible change.

Not only did Andeavor generously fund this incredible project, but they also donated their time. 41 Andeavor employees, many young adults, gathered at Stephen White to help in any way they could, transforming dismal gardens and blank walls into a welcoming place for students to grow.

“We are excited to have community partners involved in this effort to upgrade our campus which will not only benefit our students, staff, and adjacent community but the District and City of Carson. We are extremely grateful for the time and resources invested by Andeavor, Sharefest, and the dozens of youth participating in the programs, to benefit our school and community.” said Principal Dr. Adaina Brown.

Jawane Hilton, Mayor Pro Tem of Carson, remarked, “As I have been in office, I have seen Andeavor do nothing but help our community. It is a great thing to have a community partner such as Andeavor. So many people invest in other things but it’s our schools that do the work and are here with our students every day, so I’m excited about Andeavor and everything they’re doing.”

Andeavor’s community efforts don’t just stop at Stephen White. Because of their internship program, Andeavor has worked with over 900 young adults over the past 26 years, ages 17-19, to provide job experience and mentorship opportunities– an amazing chance to work at a top-notch company that is continually advancing.

One of their current interns, Clark Decastro, has been part of our Youth Development Academy program since middle school. Already well into the mindset of community improvement, he was more than happy to donate his time to beautify this middle school, saying “It means the world to me that I get to give back through Andeavor. Not only does Andeavor do amazing work in their field, but also in the lives of those around them, building a better community person by person, school by school.”

“This project is reflective of a partnership built around changing lives in the community – it’s great to see representatives of the for-profit and non-profit sectors join together to leave a lasting, positive change on the White Middle School campus and city of Carson,” described Tiffany Rau, Andeavor Director, So. Cal. Government and Public Relations. “We are so proud of all the youth participating in the Andeavor and Sharefest programs for working together and taking the initiative to strengthen our South Bay neighborhoods by serving their community.”

Andeavor led the charge, full speed ahead, towards the beautification of Stephen White Middle School. The impact they left behind will be lasting, and for that, we are all incredibly grateful. Thank you, Andeavor!

View photos from Andeavor’s Day of Service >