Giving Back to the Community

Air Products team members participated in the Battle for the Paddle, which benefits the St. Charles United Way. For the first time ever, our team members won third place for their jambalaya. Air Products team members also cooked pastalaya and gumbo as part of the event, which raises money to support United Way charities that serve St. Charles parish. A fun (and tasty!) time was had by all! 

Air Products was proud to be a sponsor of River Parishes Community College’s manufacturing day in Reserve, which allowed students from St. John parish to learn about jobs in industrial manufacturing. Our team members enjoyed explaining what we do at Air Products and answering questions about carbon capture and sequestration. 

Team members from Air Products’ Louisiana Clean Energy Complex and our existing Louisiana facilities participated in the Ascension Parish Public Schools College and Career Fair to talk to high school students and their parents about careers with Air Products. The team also explained the science behind carbon capture and storage to future scientists and engineers. The Louisiana Clean Energy Complex will create 2,000 construction jobs during construction and 170 permanent jobs with an average salary of $93,000 when operational.

Air Products sponspored the Launch Therapy Center's Keys to Excellence a Black and White Soiree, which helped raise a record $122,000 to help exceptional children lead exceptional lives in Livingston parish. Our crew had a great time at the gala and Air Products is proud to be the first donors to Launch’s capital campaign. 

Air Products employees were proud to present a donation to the River Road African American Museum in September. The $175,000 donation will support the revitalization and preservation of the True Friends Benevolent Society Hall. In celebration of the Hall’s heritage, the True Friends Benevolent Society Hall will soon house a new music hall of fame and academy.

Air Products employees who work at various facilities in South Louisiana recently joined volunteers from local organizations in St. John the Baptist parish to hand out food bags to families with school-aged children in LaPlace, Louisiana. In total, the company’s $35,000 donation and volunteer work helped feed 400 local families who may be struggling this summer with increased food and childcare costs.

Working with the Sheriff, District Attorney and School Board from St. John the Baptist parish government and the local community service organization Blessed to Be A Blessing, Air Products employees packaged food that including bread, milk, cereal and canned goods.   Families also received a Walmart gift card.

Air Products employees joined researchers from Southeastern Louisiana University in May 2024 to plant cypress trees at the Turtle Cove Research Center on Lake Maurepas and to learn about the importance of tree planting to preserving Louisiana’s wetlands. Air Products is supporting a significant independent research effort at SLU, which includes planting 2,000 cypress saplings each year for three years to help create and strengthen marshland in the Lake Maurepas area.

Air Products employees brought an educational demonstration to fourth and fifth graders as part of Teach For America Greater Baton Rouge’s STEM Demonstration Day at Lowery Elementary School in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. In addition to operating a facility in nearby Convent, Air Products is constructing its Louisiana Clean Energy Complex nearby and took the opportunity to explain how hydrogen is an important gas to our everyday lives. The students learned about permeability of rocks and how carbon dioxide can be safely stored more than a mile below the Earth’s surface.

The Outreach Team from the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex and Air Products employees in Louisiana participated in the St. John the Baptist parish job fair, where they explained open opportunities with Air Products, future construction jobs related to its new clean hydrogen project in Darrow, Louisiana, and answered questions about our work at our existing 18 Louisiana facilities. The construction of the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex will create 2,000 temporary jobs and, when the facility is onstream, it will create 170 permanent jobs. The company also has openings at existing Louisiana facilities.

Air Products officials joined Mayor Nic Hunter and Calcasieu Parish School Board Superintendent Dr. Shannon LaFargue to tour the Louisiana Region 5 STEM Center’s Future Engineers Program in the City of Lakes Charles. Air Products is supporting the center through a $25,000 donation for curriculum development and the provision of necessary supplies for student success.

Air Products is proud to make the first donation to the capital campaign for the Launch Therapy Center, which is a nonprofit that serves hundreds of exceptional needs children in Livingston parish.

The Air Products Foundation provided a $250,000 grant to expand Launch’s ability to serve children and families of Livingston parish. Chantelle Varnado and the Launch team have a proven track record of success and meaningful assistance to families. Air Products is proud to support the organization’s future growth.

Supporting the future Farmers in Ascension Parish

Air Products was proud to sponsor the 2024 Ascension Parish Livestock Show in January, where young people were able to show off the commitment and dedication it takes to raise livestock. We were happy to partner with local 4-H Clubs and the LSU Ag Center to support this worthy cause. We’re also proud to have Air Products’ employees’ family members participate and place in the show.

During the 2023 holiday season, Air Products employees and contractors from Trade Construction, Triad Construction and Petrin Construction working to restart the company’s hydrogen plant in Convent collected and donated $10,000 to the Baton Rouge Food Bank to help families in need in nearby Donaldsonville. The employees originally hoped to buy around $1,000 worth of food and ended up collecting enough money to make a sizable donation. Todd Holcomb, Air Products Construction Field Superintendent said, “By making this donation to the Baton Rouge Food Bank, we can multiply the power of our funds to help even more families in the Donaldsonville area. We truly are a community of workers giving back to the community in need.”

Air Products employees gathered for a meeting in Lake Charles teamed up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Louisiana to make sure area youth are taken care of. Out teams was happy to build bikes and donate them to middle school and high school youth in all six parishes so they have transportation to school, their jobs, and within their neighborhoods. In addition, Air Products also donated money to Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Big Defender fund through our Lake Maurepas Community Fund.

In addition to collecting and donating supplies and toys for the Iris Domestic Violence Center, Air Products’ Louisiana team members volunteered their time to help the center organize, clean and prepare a space where children, teenagers and their families can feel safe and supported during trying times.

Air Products’ Louisiana-based employees volunteer at the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, which serves an 11-parish area in Louisiana. The company is a sponsor of the Food Bank and volunteers participated by packing food for the organization’s Backpack Program, which provides food to children and families in need.

Three teams of Air Products’ employees in Louisiana competed in Battle for the Paddle, a cook-off competition that celebrates Louisiana cuisine while raising money for the United Way United Way of St. Charles.