Since 2018, the Phillips 66 Live to the Full Heroes™ program has honored people who have gone above and beyond to serve their communities by helping to further their programs and efforts. This year, Phillips 66 worked with DonorsChoose to donate $100,000 to teachers in Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas, and Kansas City, Missouri, metro-area schools. In addition to the donation, three extraordinary teachers—Mrs. Alexa Ybarra from Will Rogers Elementary in Amarillo, Texas; Ms. Caitlin McCartney from Guadalupe Centers High School in Kansas City, Missouri, and Mrs. Andrea Smetana from Fox Hill Elementary in Kansas City, Missouri—were selected as 2022’s Live to the Full Heroes. The teachers will be honored at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Basketball Championships on Friday, March 11 and receive an additional $6,600 donation to fund projects in their schools and classrooms.

“According to a survey from the U.S. Department of Education, teachers spend an average of $500 of their own money every year on supplies. This need has only increased as they’ve helped their students adapt to the pressures the pandemic has caused the last two years,” says Sunny Lopez, brand manager at Phillips 66. “We’re proud to be able to support teachers and fulfill a few of the needs they have.”

The Live to the Full Heroes program takes place each year as part of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships.

Phillips 66 will be providing a generous 5x match to community donations for teachers in Kansas City, Lubbock or Amarillo metro-area schools while funds last. Teachers new to DonorsChoose can go to DonorsChoose.org/teachers to create an account. The list of cities eligible for funding include:

  • Kansas: Kansas City, Gardner, Independence, Lenexa, Merriam, Olathe, Overland Park, Shawnee, Stilwell, Blue Springs, Lees Summit, Gladstone, North Kansas City, Liberty
  • Texas: Amarillo, Lubbock

The Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship is the longest-running collegiate relationship in history. As part of the relationship, Phillips 66 also makes an annual donation of $66,000 to the Big 12 Conference Classroom Champions Program.