Overview
The Plaquemines Community Foundation has published “The Plaquemines Community Resource Guide.” The purpose of the publication is to provide a directory of services for the residents living in and around Plaquemines Parish whose lives have been affected by the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill.
The board of directors that comprises the Plaquemines Community Foundation has acknowledged both the mental and physical effects that this disaster has had on residents of the Plaquemines Parish community whose livelihoods rely on a clean and thriving Gulf of Mexico.
Perry Triche, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Plaquemines Community Foundation, expressed his gratitude towards the various foundations aiding in the recovery efforts for those affected by the oil spill. “We know how difficult these times are for the hardworking residents of Plaquemines Parish, and we are thrilled to see so many organizations coming together to help. We are happy that we can do our part to speed up this recovery as fast as possible.”
For more information on the Resource Guide, please click here.
To school children, Plaquemines Parish is the “big toe of Louisiana’s boot” protruding into the Gulf of Mexico. On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck on the west bank of Plaquemines Parish. The 20-foot storm surge hit the southern coastline and gradually inundated the entire parish as it moved northward. A month later, Hurricane Rita’s three-foot storm surge caused more damage to the already weakened levees in Plaquemines Parish, resulting in more flooding.
In 2006, the Foundation established an affiliate community foundation in Plaquemines Parish, because it believed that the rebuilding process in devastated areas should be led by those who live and work there. To establish a solid framework for their efforts, the Plaquemines Community Foundation partnered with the St. Bernard affiliate to hire nationally renowned Healthy Neighborhoods founder, David Boehlke. He brought together a cross-section of residents and business leaders with the purpose of identifying community assets and creating a strategy to market them to current, former, and future residents and businesses.
Since then, the PCF has awarded grants to support education programs and agricultural initiatives. They also partnered with the SBCF to create the Southeast Louisiana Fisheries Assistance Center, which currently serves as a clearing house where local fishermen can receive free business planning, financial assistance (in the form of grants and low-interest loans), fishing licenses, and a slew of industry-specific training services.
