When the Hess Corp. donated its 2016 Hess Toy Truck and Dragster to Baylor College of Medicine it was a chance to share the gift of giving with affiliated hospitals and partnered Houston Independent School District schools.
A portion of the more than 4,000 collectibles was given to Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan student council members to share with Blackshear Elementary students. Middle school students, with the help of Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO and executive dean of Baylor, helped to hand out the toys to pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first-graders, stopping to high-five the students, give out candy canes and even offer up hugs.
“Working with the Hess Corporation to distribute its toy trucks to students, patients and veterans served by Baylor College of Medicine was a great opportunity to extend our community outreach with a new partner,” said Klotman. “We applaud the commitment of the Hess Corporation to kids young and old in the greater Houston community.”
Baylor also shared the Hess Toy Truck donations with other HISD schools:
- Emerson Elementary (40 trucks)
- Rusk Elementary (50 trucks)
- Piney Point Elementary (40 trucks)
- Benavidez Elementary (40 trucks)
- Whidby Elementary (40 trucks)
- Rodriguez Elementary (40 trucks)
Part of the donation also was given to Harris Health, which chose to share their toys, a tow truck with a removable dragster race car on the bed, with pediatric patients at its surrounding clinics. Dr. Marcus Hanfling, assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor, helped hand them out to children at the Pasadena Pediatric and Adolescent Health Center.
Patients at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Hospital also benefited from the Hess Corp. donation. The VA medical center offered the toys to veterans so they would be able to still give a gift to loved ones despite their hospital stay.
The Hess Toy Truck has been a holiday tradition since 1964 and is one of the longest running toy brands on the market. The toys originated in 1964, when Leon Hess, founder of Hess Oil, began offering toy trucks as a thank you to loyal customers. The toys are now released yearly near the holiday season and have quickly become collector’s items.
BCM Family 