Capital Area United Way partners with Shell and Nucor Steel Louisiana for Hurricane Ida distribution

Published 2:31 pm Tuesday, May 31, 2022

BATON ROUGE — Capital Area United Way partnered with Shell and Nucor Steel Louisiana to distribute over $175,000 in gas gift cards to nonprofits that are assisting in long term recovery from Hurricane Ida to distribute to clients.  The nonprofit agencies include: Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Livingston Long Term Recovery, Livingston Parish Schools, St. Helena Parish, St. James Parish Government | Council of Aging, and Volunteer Ascension.

“We were happy to partner with the Shell and Nucor Steel Louisiana for this distribution,” said George Bell, President and CEO of Capital Area United Way. “People are still recovering from Hurricane Ida, and the distribution of gas cards helps ease that burden when gas prices are at an all-time high.  Long term recovery is often forgotten in post recovery, but when companies join us, great things can happen in the community.”

“The impacts from Hurricane Ida are still being felt throughout our community, even if many of the physical reminders of the damage have been cleared away,” said Dai Nguyen, Shell Geismar General Manager. “Our industry played a critical role in partnering with communities directly after the storm to provide immediate needs for our communities and partners. Shell is proud to join with our local industry partner, Nucor Steel Louisiana, to continue to provide long term recovery needs to our residents still feeling the impacts of this storm nearly a year later.”

“Our relationship with Shell began years ago through the St. James Parish Community Advisory Panel as we worked to establish better dialogue between industry and the community.  Adding Capital Area United Way to the existing partnership allows us to further develop relationships, allocate resources more effectively, and extend the benefits to a larger group of St. James Parish residents,” said Calvin Hart, Nucor Steel Louisiana’s General Manager. “Hurricane Ida caused significant damage to St. James Parish and our residents last year.  While much of the community has bounced back, we recognize many residents remain in the long-term recovery stage and continue to face significant challenges to rebuild.  Nucor is here to stay, and we are here to help.  We are thankful to be a part of the St. James Parish community and grateful for the opportunity to support our neighbors.”

Capital Area United Way continues to partner with area companies to provide services and advance the common good in our 10- Parish Service Area.  For more information, visit www.cauw.org.