Astros announce ConocoPhillips as newest Community Leader

HOUSTON, TX - The Astros Foundation, the official charity of the Houston Astros, welcomes ConocoPhillips as the tenth partner in the Community Leaders program. Through the Community Leaders program, ConocoPhillips will invest in youth baseball and softball programs for at-risk youth by renovating a city-owned ballfield and providing additional safety features and programming throughout the course of the initiative.

As a whole, the Community Leaders program will invest $18 million in city-owned public youth baseball and softball fields in disadvantaged areas of Houston over the course of the next five years.

To date, 18 ballfields in seven parks have been renovated, with batting cages and additional refurbishments currently underway at many Community Leaders parks. The program currently serves more than 1,200 children, providing equipment, player and coaching clinics and special visits from Astros players and front office personnel.

"We're excited to team up with the Houston Astros to support the Community Leaders program so that Houston-area youth can experience the joy that playing baseball provides," said ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance. "We also are looking forward to sponsoring a new program with the Astros that highlights our company's focus on math education by showcasing outstanding math teachers at games during the upcoming baseball season. Both programs make important contributions to the quality of life in our community."

"Seeing the positive impact of the Community Leaders program on our local community has been very rewarding," said Astros Owner and Chairman Jim Crane. "The Astros are proud to work with corporate champions like ConocoPhillips to provide safe, renovated ballfields where our children can play and get in the practice of healthy living early on. The game of baseball teaches important values like respect, patience, teamwork and dedication that will serve these young athletes well throughout their lives."

The newly refurbished fields are all at city-owned parks. All reconstruction and additional safety features are being paid for through the Community Leaders program and completed at no cost to taxpayers. 

"The Houston Parks and Recreation Department is pleased to continue its partnership with the Houston Astros through the Community Leaders program," said Houston Parks and Recreation Department Director Joe Turner. "Since 2012, the Community Leaders program has helped the Parks Department bring positive changes not only to our youth ballfields, but to the lives of Houston's youth through the game of baseball. We welcome ConocoPhillips to the Houston Astros Community Leaders program and look forward to enriching the lives of more of Houston's youth."

The Community Leaders initiative was jumpstarted by Astros owner Jim Crane shortly after he and his partners took control of the organization in November of 2011 and is in collaboration with the City of Houston, ten Houston-based corporations and the Astros Foundation.

In conjunction with the team charity's other cornerstone program, the Astros Urban Youth Academy, the Astros Foundation is also developing additional programming to serve the youth teams who play at these parks, including baseball and softball clinics with current Astros players and alumni and UYA instructors, donated equipment and special events.

The youth teams partnering with the Community Leaders program will receive tickets to Astros games at Minute Maid Park. The Houston-based corporations in the Community Leaders program will also participate in occasional community service projects at the fields with their employees and other programming, led by the Astros Foundation, at the fields throughout the year.

ABOUT CONOCOPHILLIPS:

ConocoPhillips is the world's largest independent E&P company based on production and proved reserves. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ConocoPhillips had operations and activities in 27 countries, $58 billion in annualized revenue, $122 billion of total assets, and approximately 19,200 employees as of June 30, 2014. Production from continuing operations, excluding Libya, averaged 1,543 MBOED for the six months ended June 30, 2014, and proved reserves were 8.9 billion BOE as of Dec. 31, 2013. For more information, go to www.conocophillips.com.

ABOUT THE ASTROS FOUNDATION:

The Astros Foundation is the official 501(c)(3) team charity of the Houston Astros. We seek to harness the passion of baseball fans in the Greater Houston area to support our cornerstone charitable programs, including Community Leaders, the Astros Urban Youth Academy and the Astros RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities).