March 18, 2024 - BATON ROUGE, La. – Air Products announced today a $250,000 donation to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation to fund fish stocking operations in Lake Maurepas. The donation, from the Air Products Lake Maurepas Community Fund, established via its charitable giving affiliate, the Air Products Foundation, is aligned with the Fund’s mission of supporting educational, ecological, and recreational projects in the communities in which we operate.
Air Products Donates $250,000 to Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation to Stock Fish in Lake Maurepas
Air Products employees join Missy Fox, the Executive Director of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation to present a check for $250,000. From left to right, Stanley Bienemy, Government Relations Manager for Air Products, Danna LeBlanc, Commercial Executive Director of Air Products’ Louisiana Clean Energy Complex and Missy Fox, Executive Director of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation.
“Enhancing the environment in the Lake Maurepas community is exactly why Air Products created the Lake Maurepas Community Fund, and we are proud to team up with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to support its efforts to stock fish in the lake,” said Danna Leblanc, Commercial Executive Director of Air Products’ Louisiana Clean Energy Complex. “This donation will directly support both recreational and commercial fishing to ensure all are able to fish on the lake for many years to come.”
“Our mission is to serve the department and to help them with projects they wouldn’t normally have funding for,” said Missy Fox, executive director for Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation. “It’s very important to have groups like Air Products, or we could not do these projects.”
The $250,000 donation will fund efforts to introduce a large number of young fish to Lake Maurepas in 2024. The stocking will include Largemouth bass, Croppie and Catfish, which can already be found in Lake Maurepas.
This is the fourth donation made by the Air Products Lake Maurepas Community Fund. Last year, Air Products donated $400,000 each to the Livingston Parish Fire Protection District #2 and the Manchac Volunteer Fire Department to support their public safety efforts on Lake Maurepas. It also donated an additional $100,000 to the Livingston Fire Protection District #2 to support its ongoing staffing needs.
The Fund plans to contribute $1 million per year to community projects that meet its intended mission during the duration of the operation of the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, which is expected to be at least 25 years.
About the Air Products Lake Maurepas Community Fund
The Air Products Lake Maurepas Community Fund will be overseen by an Advisory Committee that is nearly-formed and to be comprised of local community leaders with a deep understanding of Lake Maurepas and the surrounding region, along with Air Products’ employees who live and work in the area.
The Fund supports parishes bordering Lake Maurepas by funding needed educational, ecological, and recreational projects, with a focus on Livingston, St. John the Baptist, and Tangipahoa Parishes. Driving grantee selection, members of the Advisory Committee assess and recommend potential areas of support for grant opportunities to relevant non-profit organizations that meet Fund criteria and eligibility.
Looking forward, Air Products strives to continue its more than five-decade history of safe and responsible operations in Louisiana, both through its proposed Louisiana Clean Energy Complex currently under development and in future investments. To learn more, visit https://Community.CleanEnergyLouisiana.com.
About the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex
Air Products is developing the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, which will advance energy independence by creating clean energy at a blue hydrogen plant constructed and operated along the Gulf Coast. This project is Air Products’ largest investment in the United States and will help Louisiana meet its long-term carbon-reduction goals while creating and supporting local jobs.
The new facility will create 170 new jobs with an average salary of $93,000 a year and 2,000 construction jobs. Currently, Air Products employs 330 people in Louisiana at 18 facilities across the state, with employees actively contributing to the communities where they live and work.
For more detailed information about Air Products’ Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, please visit CleanEnergyLouisiana.com. People can also follow the project on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.