What happens when our people get an opportunity to help students in need? They hit the gas to go above and beyond

Staying on track when it comes to giving TECO Peoples Gas customers a great experience with us is something we strive for 24/7. But if you want to know about other things we love doing for the community, buckle up – here comes a hairpin turn.

School supplies: probably not the first thing you think of when you think of TECO Peoples Gas and the safe, reliable gas that keeps stoves across Florida sizzling with deliciousness and showers luxuriating with warmth. But as the state’s largest natural gas provider, there are a lot of students in communities we serve. And for those students among them who are disadvantaged, having the basic things they need to start the school year right can be a challenge.

So it was natural – pardon the pun – for our team members to step up with a big donation drive at Tampa Bay Grand Prix recently to help Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay help students in need. (And what better place for a donation drive than a racetrack?)

Fifty backpacks full of things students need later, along with many other school supplies our people donated, and dozens of families can turn the key on a better school year and the road to a better future it can lead to.

Sean Hillary, Peoples Gas controller, organized the event at Tampa Bay Grand Prix with Patrick Ho, director of Engineering & Technical Support. Holly Moore, regional manager with our Community Affairs team, meanwhile, connected the dots on the donation drive with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa.

“The event was a fantastic way to help the community and was held in conjunction with a Peoples Gas leadership meeting where the focus included how we can serve our customers better, grow our business and excel in operations, among many other things. The chance to work with Big Brothers Big Sisters for a great cause made it that much more fulfilling,” Hillary said. “We’re residents in the communities we serve and so we see a lot of the needs our customers have firsthand, just like we know we can take action and have direct, positive results when we work with our amazing nonprofit partners.”

No, “donating school supplies” may not be something you’ll find in our corporate charter, but it’s the kind of thing that’s there in spades in our corporate character. And when TECO Peoples Gas team members get together to do it, the good we can do shifts into higher gear. It’s important to us because it’s part of who we are.

So beyond the gas in our pipes that keeps Florida running, we’re always thinking of ways to help those in need. And with the donation drive at Tampa Grand Prix as just one example, it should be clear to everyone that we’ve got a ton of gas in the tank to do good things.