THIBODAUX, La. — Shell and the Bayou Community Foundation have awarded Nicholls State University more than $75,000 to help with recovery following the impact of Hurricane Ida.
The total award of $77,760 is being used by the university to meet the unmet needs of students and their families displaced from their homes by Hurricane Ida. Such needs include temporary housing, food insecurity and basic living essentials such as clothes, medication, toiletries, school supplies and more.
“The Bayou Region has been home to Shell for over 100 years and it was important to us to be able to help provide a home for Colonels and their families who lost theirs to the devastation of Hurricane Ida,” said Colette Hirstius, Shell’s senior vice president for the Gulf of Mexico. “We are grateful and proud to be able to provide safe, stable housing so that these students can stay in school and focused on their futures.”
The money will cover the housing, meals and living expenses for 20 students and their families.
“Nicholls State University responded quickly after Hurricane Ida to provide temporary housing and meals to students, faculty and staff who lost so much during the storm,” said Jennifer Armand, Bayou Community Foundation executive director. “The Bayou Community Foundation is pleased to partner with Shell to support all of these important relief efforts.”
Hurricane Ida, which made landfall on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, brought devastating winds and storm surge to the Bayou Region. An estimated 25 percent of Lafourche and Terrebonne Parish’s homes were destroyed or are uninhabitable.
Approximately two-thirds of the Nicholls community report that their homes were damaged by Hurricane Ida, with one-in-five students saying their homes were destroyed or uninhabitable. Additionally, more than half of students say they or their families lost access to reliable income from the storm, and another 16 percent reported that their car was damaged.
In addition to this donation to house displaced students through Bayou Community Foundation, Shell also provided $10,000 in Shell gas cards to Nicholls Students to assist them in their commutes to school and work, many of whom have been driving much longer distances due to being displaced after Ida.
“Many of our students and their families have literally lost the roof over their heads with estimates of weeks, months, and even longer for recovery and rebuilding efforts to truly take shape in the hardest-hit communities,” said Nicholls President, Dr. Jay Clune. “Without the generosity and support of partners such as Shell and BCF, it would be impossible for Nicholls to enact our vision to be the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Bayou Region.”
For more information on how you can help, visit nicholls.edu/ida-resources.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, Dec. 13, 2021
MEDIA CONTACT: Jacob Batte, Media Relations and Publications Coordinator, 985.448.4141 or jacob.batte@nicholls.edu
