Carlos Rodriguez has lived most of his life in Weehawken. He attended Weehawken High and purchased his business, Integrity Exxon, at 48th Street and Boulevard East.
“I grew up in this area, and I don’t plan on going anywhere soon,” Rodriguez said. “As you get older, you tend to appreciate where you’re from even more.”
When Rodriguez and co-owner Shu Lian Cai heard of Exxon-Mobil’s national Community Outreach Program, they figured it was a great way to give back to the community.
“Exxon-Mobil wants to do something for the community,” Rodriguez said. “They want to begin this program where they will give a grant periodically to a needy group in the community. [You would] apply for the grant, Exxon would then present the check, and we have to determine where to allocate the money, wherever we see the need. I figured that the Board of Education could use the money, perhaps to buy new computers for the school system.”
Rodriguez contacted Weehawken Board of Education President Richard Barsa, who was surprised by the act of generosity.
“It’s not often that you get something like this from the business community,” Barsa said. “Hopefully, this will be the beginning and other businesses will join in and help us.”
Last Tuesday, Rodriguez and Lian Cai presented Barsa with a check for $500 that can be used for any Board of Education program.
“Although we haven’t determined what we’re going to do with the money, we’ll probably put it toward some sort of an upgrade to our technology program,” Barsa said. “We’d like to thank Exxon for the program and thank Carlos and Shu Lian for thinking of us.”
Rodriguez said the grant is not a one-time event and will become a more regular occurrence in the future. “It’s not a one-shot deal by any means,” Rodriguez said. “Exxon-Mobil has received a good response from the first stages of this program and hopefully, they will raise the amount of the grants and do it more often in the future. I know that they are getting good feedback for the first year of the program.”
Rodriguez said he hopes to reach out to help other worthwhile organizations in the township, like the Volunteer First Aid Squad and the town’s youth baseball program.
“We don’t know yet if it’s going to happen every year or every six months,” Rodriguez said. “But we’re already looking toward the future.”
Rodriguez said that he also hopes to make his business more community-oriented and invite local children to help decorate the area.
“I’ve always learned one thing,” Rodriguez said. “There’s no place like home.”