DERIDDER - Beauregard Electric Cooperative, Inc., recently presented a sizeable financial donation to the Beauregard Area Ministerial Alliance (BAMA) to support the local charitable organization in its continuing hurricane recovery efforts.
The BECi board presented a check for $37,430 to the local agency at its monthly meeting in April. The money was acquired by BECi from a special relief fund established by the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives (ALEC) in Baton Rouge after Hurricane Katrina. The special relief fund was endowed by the generous contributions of more than 1,600 electric cooperatives, cooperative-related organizations and individual donors across the nation to help rebuild Louisiana communities served by electric co-ops. ALEC then disbursed portions of the contributions directly to those co-ops most affected by the storms.
“It was amazing to everyone at BECi that members of the electric cooperative family throughout the nation would be so kind as to send their hard-earned money – not to mention the men and equipment they sent - to Louisiana to help us in our time of need,” said BECi General Manager Bill Schmidt. “Our community is very fortunate to be remembered in this manner and we’re happy to serve as an intermediary in getting this money directly to the people who need it by partnering with such an outstanding and well respected organization as BAMA.”
BAMA members were present at the meeting to accept the check and form the partnership. “Words cannot express the deep appreciation that I personally along with the other members of BAMA have for BECI’s sincere hospitality and generosity toward our organization,” said George Lee Glass, BAMA president. “Many in our community would not have received the assistance they so desperately needed had it not been for this gift.”
The non-denominational Ministerial Alliance was formed in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita and is presently representing over 30 active and participating ministries throughout the seven-parish BECi service territory. BAMA focuses its efforts on families still recovering from the 2005 hurricane season and serves the needs of Southwest Louisiana.
The alliance targets families, especially the disabled, elderly and homes with children with little or no insurance coverage, including families that received inadequate FEMA assistance. To date, BAMA has applied for and received four grants, which have helped with specific cases, and the organization is presently pursuing other grants in the community.
“We feel as though the cooperative has many things in common with BAMA, including the fact that we were both formed for the sole purpose of filling a specific need and that we’re both local organizations focused on making our community a better place to live and work,” Schmidt said.
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