LMR-October_PROOF6

Cover Story
Operation Give Back
BY CLAIRE SHAW, LMA MEMBER SERVICES ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
What do you get when you mix sweet memories of
receiving pure, unadulterated kindness during a natural
disaster with a burning desire to truly make a difference
for victims of another catastrophic water event,
Hurricane Harvey? As a survivor of the Great Flood
of 2016 and one of thousands of people dramatically
impacted by it, LMA Membership Services Coordinator
Amber Jones recently felt this intense struggle pulling at
her heartstrings. After the 2016 flood waters destroyed
her home and all of its contents, Amber experienced the
stinging pain of loss. Amber remembers watching the
horrific images on the news countless times, feeling a
sense of hopelessness and longing for someone to tell
her what to do next. Amber also recalls being one of
fourteen LMA and RMI employees who were recipients
of a Go Fund Me account established by the National
League of Cities following the August floods. Donations
totaling over $17,000 came pouring in from across
the nation - some from familiar faces, but many from
benevolent strangers. The LMA staff’s profound sense
of gratitude for the immense goodness of friends and
strangers in supporting rebuilding homes and lives
manifested itself through the creation of an initiative to
pay it forward: Operation Give Back.
While Hurricane Harvey was dumping an estimated
33 trillion gallons of water, an informal early morning
coffee conversation in the hallway of the LMA building
prompted the employees to spring into action. Over
the following two weeks, LMA employees donated
over $1,000 worth of clothes, pillows, blankets, food,
household items, cleaning supplies, Sears gift cards,
diapers, baby items, diabetic supplies, a pallet of water,
and other miscellaneous items to the cause. Amber
spear-headed the initiative as the LMA team donated,
organized, and boxed the items to distribute to flood
victims in the Acadia Parish area and Texas through
Operation HOPE (Helping Other People Endlessly). On
September 5, Mayor Greg Jones of Crowley drove a
trailer to Baton Rouge where LMA employees loaded
the items, and then returned to the Acadia Crawfish
Company facility, who provided warehouse space
in Crowley to store the items. Acadia Crawfish also
furnished an 18-wheeler and a driver, Roland Broussard,
who transported the combined twenty-four pallets of
donated goods to League City, TX on September 11.
“I just couldn’t imagine not doing anything,” Amber
stated. “We’re just ordinary people living our lives. But
even in the midst of life’s most difficult moments, LMA
employees always come together to make a difference.”
If you would like to assist victims of Hurricanes Harvey
and Irma, please visit the LMA website homepage.
LMR | October 2017 Page 21