Community Foundation of SWLA activates relief fund for Hurricane Laura victims

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The following information was provided by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation on behalf of the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana:

The Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana is raising money to issue grants to local non-profits that will help people recover from Hurricane Laura, which is currently barreling in on southwest Louisiana. It is anticipated to unleash her great force in the middle of the night, causing widespread flooding and wind damage.

“Connecting people who care with causes that matter, like rebuilding after a hurricane, is what we do at the Community Foundation,” said Sara Judson, CEO of the Foundation.

“Generous people, companies and other community foundations gave to our relief fund after Hurricane Harvey and we were able to grant to credible nonprofits who helped residents of Lake Charles and our neighbors in southeast Texas as well.”

The Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana works with organizations best positioned to respond quickly to the aftermath of Laura.

“No community knows southwest Louisiana better than the one operated and located in Lake Charles,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “I know the generous people and businesses of Louisiana will donate so the Foundation can work with our state government to rebuild and to make people and places more resilient for the next time disaster visits.”

“We partner with the foundation on numerous projects and know they will use their knowledge of the region to issue grants quickly; assess the response every day and adjust for a coordinated and, hopefully, quick recovery,” said Mayor Nic Hunter of Lake Charles.

The Foundation has reactivated its Hurricane Relief and Recovery Fund, which welcomes donations at FoundationSWLA.org, with a direct link at foundationswla.org/hurricane-relief. Donations to the non-profit are tax deductible.

“Donations are more than a gift to recovery; they also show people who are hurting that many others are standing with them as they rebuild their homes, businesses and lives,” Judson said.

Based in Lake Charles, the foundation has been central to community building across southwest Louisiana for more than a decade. It has a durable affiliation with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, which has raised and granted more than $150 million for disaster recovery since Hurricane Katrina.

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