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2009 Commitments and Progress
Fundraising efforts including
direct mail, special events and personal requests garnered additional
funding for The Power to Care. |
In Arkansas, the company
hosted stakeholder meetings and established an advisory council to create
a statewide fuel fund. |
Interactive tools
such as online payments, contributions and account access allowed Entergy
to help more low-income customers throughout the year. |
Interactive tools
such as online payments, contributions and account access allowed Entergy
to help more low-income customers throughout the year. |
Entergy provided
employees with 1,800 compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs and brochures
on billing and payment options. |
Entergy Mississippi partnered
with the state's United Way to inform customers of the 2-1-1 program,
which provides financial, counseling, medical, education and other services. |
Almost 150 Entergy employees,
family and community members joined forces for the company's first system-wide
volunteer week of service in 14 communities in Louisiana, Mississippi,
Arkansas and Texas. In all, 2,248 volunteer hours valued at $43,858 were
contributed by distributing 5,000 CFLs and weatherizing 32 homes. |
Interactive tools such as online
payments, contributions and account access allowed Entergy to help more
low-income customers throughout the year. |
Entergy Mississippi
partnered with the state's United Way to inform customers of the 2-1-1
program, which provides financial, counseling, medical, education and
other services. |
Entergy Arkansas
launched its Industry to Industry program with 24 local companies. |
Entergy partnered
with the IRS to educate customers about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
as well as assist them in filing for benefits and refunds. More than 36,000
customers were reached, and about 2.3 million residential customers were
notified about EITC via bill inserts. |
Entergy provided
64 nonprofits with memberships to GrantStation, an interactive website
that assists grant seekers in identifying potential funding sources for
their programs or projects. Grants totaling more than $3,258,000 were
awarded to communities in four states, and more than $2.4 million is pending
in grant requests. |
Entergy also launched
a new partnership with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, which
focuses on helping educate employees and customers about climate change
and how to take action to reduce or minimize their personal carbon footprints. |
Entergy successfully
lobbied for $5.1 billion in LIHEAP funding from Congress, and the states
Entergy serves were awarded a record-setting $313 million. |
2010 Low Income Initiative Progress Report
2009 Commitments and Progress
The following are some of the specific actions Entergy took in 2009 to help our customers.
Keeping the assistance flowing.
While there are many sources of aid available to needy families in our region, no single one helps everyone. Here are some examples of initiatives Entergy's Low-Income Champions have undertaken to assure as many people are helped as possible.
Partnering with customers who can help themselves.
Entergy provided customers with tools to help manage their bills in 2009 by:
Moving out from poverty.
To help more low-income customers move to self-sufficiency, Entergy is:
All other duties as required.
Entergy's focus is on helping customers afford their electric
service through safe, healthy and energy efficient measures. But
sometimes our customers' needs are as basic as food, clothing and
shelter.
Entergy works in the communities it serves to fulfill their
needs, whatever they may be. In 2005, when hurricanes Katrina and
Rita ripped through Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, Entergy raised
funds, held clothing and food drives, and reconnected power to
customers affected by the storms. In 2009 when the economic
recession affected us all, Entergy faced it with an eye on customers
just as much at risk of losing their homes due to lost jobs as to
hurricane-force winds.
Entergy works to improve the lives of customers however they need
it. Here are some of the ways Entergy reached out in 2009:
- Entergy Louisiana worked with the STB Project to rebuild its
175th home after Hurricane Katrina's destruction. A 24-hour
build, the project was featured during MTV's Youth Inaugural
Ball.
- Entergy Mississippi also took hammers in hands for the 2009
Habitat for Humanity Blitz Build in November, and in December,
Entergy Mississippi and Entergy Nuclear sponsored and volunteered
for the 11th Annual Habitat for Humanity Blitz Build, which builds
a home from the ground up in one week for a qualified family.
About 85 Entergy volunteers and their families participated, and
according to the Habitat for Humanity staff, the home's exterior
siding was nailed to its frame in one day, which has only happened
five times in 19 years of building more than 400 homes.
- Entergy Louisiana, along with the Louisiana State University
Agriculture Center, sponsored a summit to educate agencies on
predatory lending practices targeting elderly and low-income
people as well as those with bad credit.
- Entergy Mississippi is working with the Jackson Housing
Authority and Duvall Decker Architects to develop an innovative
affordable housing project, which includes new construction of
two-story loft and courtyard homes funded by Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) money. Solar panels and net metering provided by
Smart Sync will be included to lower utility costs for residents,
making this project a national model for the future of affordable
housing construction.
- Entergy Mississippi presented a $5,000 grant to the Salvation
Army to provide scholarships to low-income children from Mississippi
to attend a regional camp in Lexington.
- Entergy Texas presented a total of $128,000 in Entergy
Hurricane Relief Fund checks, and the company also provided a
$12,000 grant to the South East Texas Regional Planning Commission
to support its campaign promoting the benefits of 2-1-1, a service
of the Health and Human Service Commission's Texas Information and
Referral Network providing information on food, shelter, rent
assistance, utility bill assistance, counseling, child care,
after-school programs, senior services and disaster relief.
- Entergy Mississippi took customer assistance out to the ball
game in July when linemen, engineers, call center representatives
and other Entergy employees volunteered at the Salvation Army's
Night at the Mississippi Braves. The company's team members took
tickets and accepted contributions from a crowd of more than 5,000
fans before the volunteers presented a $98,193 check representing
matching funds for The Power to Care to Salvation Army officials.
- Entergy Texas collected blankets in January and delivered them
to the Tangipahoa Council on Aging as well as the St. John and St.
James Departments of Health and Human Services for local
residents.
- Entergy Texas and the Pew Center partnered
in October to launch the
Make
an Impact website in Beaumont. The event encouraged lifestyles
to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
- Entergy New Orleans distributed compact fluorescent lights and
energy efficiency/weatherization information at the Homeownership
Fair/Freret Market/Kid's Fest in April. A program of the
Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, Inc. (NHS), a local
nonprofit celebrating more than 30 years of assisting homeowners,
the fair provides comprehensive services for first-time homebuyers
as well as existing homeowners through counseling, classroom
training, loan packaging and construction management services.
- Entergy Arkansas customers qualified for $144,550 in emergency
federal funds during two one-day-only events, co-sponsored by
Entergy with the Central Arkansas Development Council and Arkansas
Community Action Agencies Association (ACAAA). The events were
designed to help qualified families navigate the application
process. Entergy Arkansas staff helped with real-time billing
information.
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