Pay It Forward On August 27, 2020, Louisiana was hit by Hurricane Laura, followed six weeks later by Hurricane Delta. Lake Charles Memorial Health System was devastated with damages. Remarkably, over $380,000 was donated by people and businesses to assist Memorial’s employees who experienced damage to their homes, autos and lives. Now, almost a year to the day, Terrebonne General Health System is experiencing the same devastation from hurricane ida. The hospital has been shut down without power and water. Patients have been relocated, and employees are reeling to recover personally. “As a means to “pay it forward”, the Foundation at Lake Charles Memorial initiated a fundraiser to assist the employees at Terrebonne General,” says Leif Pedersen, Senior Vice President of Philanthropy at Memorial. “One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the Terrebonne General Foundation for distribution to its staff as they rebuild and recover. No administrative expense will be deducted so that all of the donations is maximized and completely available to the people and families needing it most.” Several days into the campaign, Memorial was contacted by CMR Roofing & Construction to partner in bringing even more proceeds to the campaign. CMR specializes in storm damage recovery, and its team was already on the ground witnessing the catastrophe and providing assistance in the tri-Parish area served by Terrebonne General. “Rebuilding communities is at the heart of our company. We had to find a way to help and we got creative with everyone involved,” says CMR CEO Steve Soule. “We have a number of ongoing sponsorships – in NASCAR, NHRA, IMSA and Powerboat P1 – and we are engaging these platforms to reach our loyal fans and business network to raise funds for those in need.” For example, one sponsorship involves San Diego-based Compass Racing, which will be racing live on NBCSN at 5 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 25 at the Acura Long Beach Grand Prix. The car, piloted by Matt McMurry and Mario Farnbacher, will feature relief fund messaging, and the team will raise funds with the assistance of Acura before, during and after the race. The hope is others, through this Go Fund Me initiative, will join these companies and teams to grow the fund and positive impact for the many employees at Terrebonne General in their struggle to rebound from Hurricane Ida’s wrath. For those who want to give, but not online, gifts should be made payable to 501(c)3 non-profit Lake Charles Memorial Health System Foundation, c/o Leif Pedersen, Senior VP of Philanthropy, 1701 Oak Park Blvd., Lake Charles, LA 70601 or call (337) 494-3226. gofundme.com/f/terrebonne-hospital-employee-relief-fund
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