ATLANTA (ABP) — The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund has given a $500,000 grant for the hurricane-damaged community of Lacombe, La., where the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and an Arkansas Rotary Club are working together.
Already CBF and Rotary volunteers have restored more than 50 homes in Lacombe. The latest grant, which will allow the partners to expand that work, was awarded to Rotary Club 99 of Little Rock, Ark., according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Former President Bill Clinton announced the gift Sept. 15 in a ceremony in New Orleans, during which $7.5 million was given to several nonprofit organizations working in Katrina-damaged areas along the Gulf Coast.
The Bush-Clinton Fund consists of worldwide donations raised for Katrina-relief efforts. Fund organizers have designated more than $130 million to help storm victims become financially self-sufficient and receive economic opportunities to improve the quality of life, the fund's website said.
Last fall, CBF of Louisiana began working in Lacombe, aided by CBF of Arkansas, which added volunteers, supplies and funding to the effort. The Arkansas group's connections with the Little Rock Rotary Club brought that group into the partnership.
“We're excited about being able to help more people,” said Sam Chaffin, who leads the club's Katrina relief efforts. “We have a lot of friends down there that we want to do what we can for.”
The grant named the CBF state groups of Louisiana and Arkansas as partners and recognized them as a model for future Lacombe rebuilding efforts. Moving forward to that future, Chaffin said, the Rotary Club will reevaluate community needs and explore ways to collaborate with other local relief efforts. The efforts will likely focus on providing resources for residents motivated to recover quickly from the disaster.
“Rotary has looked to CBF for relationships in Lacombe,” Ray Higgins, the Arkansas CBF coordinator, said. “CBF has looked to Rotary for passionate volunteers and extra resources. This grant is a positive result of what faith-based and civic groups can do together. We are making a difference in rebuilding this historic African-American community.”
The group's current project is called the Lacombe Village of Hope, and builders expect to complete it within a year. A yet-to-be-hired project director will work with CBF of Louisiana to provide on-site management of the grant.
Reid Doster, the disaster-response coordinator for CBF of Louisiana, said the grant provides CBF an opportunity to give without expecting anything in return. And that's why it's so helpful, he said.
“This grant gives us an opportunity to … reach across racial, cultural and geographical lines to the most needy, neglected and forgotten, reflecting the unconditional love of God,” he said.
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— Hannah Elliott contributed to this story. Photo available from Associated Baptist Press.