Baytown community launches Be Well™ Baytown initiative led by MD Anderson and ExxonMobil

Employers, community organizations, families and others are working to promote wellness and reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases

MD Anderson News Release October 30, 2017

In an effort to improve public health and lower the risk of cancer, Baytown community organizations are partnering with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and ExxonMobil to launch Be Well Baytown™. Knowing that more than half of cancers may be prevented by applying knowledge and tools available today, the mission of Be Well Baytown is to promote wellness and lower cancer risk.

Made possible by a $10 million gift announced by ExxonMobil in 2014, MD Anderson is teaming up with Baytown schools, workplaces, social service agencies and others to launch the initiative. It is the most comprehensive community-driven health initiative of its kind in the United States focused on cancer prevention and control.

Be Well Baytown will provide the community with information, services and activities to promote healthy lifestyles. It plans to reach more than 70,000 residents and will include the delivery of more than 475,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables for individuals in need over three years, educational health events, community-wide walking clubs, and youth programming during and after school.

“By joining forces at work, in classrooms, and all around our community to make our health a priority, we can improve the lives of our families and neighbors,” Dan Helgesen, ExxonMobil Baytown refinery manager, said.

Be Well Baytown is an initiative of MD Anderson’s Cancer Prevention and Control Platform, which is part of the institution’s Moon Shots Program™, an ambitious effort to reduce cancer deaths by more rapidly developing and implementing advances in prevention, early detection and treatment based on scientific discoveries.

“Baytown community leaders have made an extraordinary commitment to take action to improve the health and well-being of our neighbors,” said Marshall E. Hicks, M.D., president ad interim of MD Anderson. “A critical step in ending cancer is to prevent it whenever possible, and, thanks to the support of ExxonMobil, we look forward to working with the Baytown community toward this goal.”

Organizations participating in Be Well Baytown include the following: 

  • Baytown/West Chambers County Economic Development Foundation
  • Baytown Chamber of Commerce
  • City of Baytown
  • Communities In Schools of Baytown
  • Goose Creek Consolidated ISD
  • Harris County Public Health
  • Harris Health System
  • Hearts and Hands of Baytown, a ministry of Iglesia Cristo Viene
  • Houston Methodist San Jacinto
  • Lee College
  • Love Network of Baytown
  • Our Promise for West Baytown      
  • United Way of Greater Baytown Area & Chambers County
  • YMCA of Greater Houston

Learn more about Be Well Baytown by visiting with our team at the upcoming Be Well Baytown Wellness Event on November 3rd from 9:30am-11:30 am at Wayne Gray Sports Complex (5200 East Road).