ExxonMobil donates $18 million to world-renowned Houston health institutions

ExxonMobil on Thursday announced $18 million in grants to Houston health care facilities to support cancer prevention and cardiovascular research, expand pediatric care for children with autism and enhance pediatric liver disease research and clinical services.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will receive $10 million; $5 million will go to the Texas Heart Institute and $3 million to Texas Children's Hospital.

"ExxonMobil has had a long and deep involvement with Houston and Texas," said Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation. "These world-renowned institutions are helping improve the health and lives of families in the greater Houston area and around the world, and we're proud to support their important mission."

ExxonMobil's $10 million grant to MD Anderson will support the Healthy Community Initiative, which will implement strategies to reduce the risk of developing cancer and other chronic disease in a community to be selected in the Houston area. MD Anderson will team with local officials to support comprehensive health policies, education campaigns and wellness and prevention services at workplaces, schools and throughout the community. Practices that show health improvements in the community can then serve as a model for other organizations to implement locally and nationally.

Read more from the Spring Observer, a Houston Community Newspaper partner