DESTREHAN – The River Road Historical Society announced it has received $5,000 from the Monsanto Fund,  a private foundation and  the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, to support the preservation and restoration of historical St. Charles Parish. The mission of the River Road Historical Society is the preservation and restoration of Destrehan Plantation and other historic buildings along River Road in Louisiana for the education and enjoyment of future generations.  

 “We sincerely appreciate the support Monsanto has shown us in our educational endeavor at Destrehan Plantation.  This donation will allow us to offer more activities to the community,” said Nancy Robert, Executive Director of The River Road Historical Society.

In keeping with its mission, the River Road Historical Society has expanded its Heritage Education Program to include more educational opportunities to the thousands of students and adults that visit Destrehan Plantation.  A Heritage Village has been developed to use for educational, cultural and community events throughout the year.  

The donation received from Monsanto helped to fund the construction of a performance stage.  The stage has already been used for performances at the Heritage Day and Destrehan Plantation Spring Festival both taking place in April.  Other performances are planned, including outdoor concerts, period dance performances and demonstrations of period crafts as part of the regular tours of Destrehan Plantation.  

The performance stage will result in more segments of the community utilizing Destrehan Plantation during public events.

“It is very important to Monsanto that we support the community in which we operate,” said Sandi Eitel, HR Business Unit Lead of Monsanto Luling. “We feel that supporting the area where many of our employees live and work, is one way that we can demonstrate our mission to be a good neighbor.” 

About Monsanto Fund:

The Monsanto Fund is the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company. Incorporated in 1964, the Fund’s primary objective is to improve the lives of people by bridging the gap between their needs and their resources. The Monsanto Fund is focused on grant-making in four main areas: nutritional well-being through agriculture; science education, primarily on professional development for teachers; the environment, which includes conservation, protection of biodiversity, clean water and restoration of wildlife habitat; and improving the quality of life in communities where Monsanto employees live and work.

Visit the Monsanto Fund at http://www.monsantofund.org/asp/welcome.asp.