The Foundation for Agency Management Excellence (FAME), an insurance industry educational foundation of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, has identified the three relief agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi that will receive its previously announced grants to aid the Gulf Coast hurricane victims.
Last fall, the FAME board approved the award of at least $100,000 from the proceeds of The Council’s annual fund-raising auction, held in October at the Insurance Leadership Forum at The Greenbrier. The auction generated even more than expected, so $125,000 will be donated to three relief organizations.
Each organization was selected on the recommendation of Council members who have first-hand knowledge of Gulf Coast needs and charitable organizations engaged in relief efforts and approved by the FAME board.
The following are the awards and the organizations that will receive them:
Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund — $50,000
The Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund was set up by Gov. Haley Barbour to serve as the state’s central clearinghouse for corporations, organizations and individuals to donate to assist the hundreds of thousands of Mississippi residents who are recovering and/or preparing to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Community advisory groups have been established in each of the communities on Mississippi’s coast to prioritize the allocation of resources collected by the fund.
Baton Rouge (La.) Area Foundation — $50,000
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is a community foundation established in 1964 as a tool for community development. The foundation has made more than $3.8 million in grants to shelters for hurricane victims, and its plans call for continued relief to shelters, support for programs for life enhancements for trailer villages and support for transitions from trailer to permanent housing, as well as a series of education and intervention programs for displaced people through partnerships with other foundations.
Manna House — $25,000
Manna House is a soup kitchen in Alexandria, La., that serves a free meal daily, seven days a week, to anyone in need. Although Alexandria was not damaged by Hurricane Katrina, its population has swelled with evacuees, and the number of meals served by Manna House has more than doubled in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Manna House operates almost exclusively with volunteer labor, and most of its funds go to buy food for the 200 to 300 meals it serves every day.
Last fall, the FAME board agreed to use its annual fund-raising auction at the Insurance Leadership Forum as a benefit for people in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast area. The conference was held Oct. 8-12, 2005, at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Ken A. Crerar, president of The Council, said the response of commercial insurance brokers and carriers who attended the conference was extraordinary.
“I would like to thank all those individuals and companies who so generously opened their hearts – and their wallets – to those in need. Our industry has a long and proud history of responding with great heart and character during such times,” said Crerar.
Topics Catastrophe Agencies Hurricane Mississippi
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
MGU Private Client Select Teams With Ryan Specialty on High Net Worth 
Black Bear and Cub Destroy Car After Getting Trapped Inside 
How California’s Homeowners Insurance Crisis Is Affecting Brokers 
Local Opposition Challenges Wind Farm Development in Rural Nebraska 
