(La Porte County, IN) - NIPSCO has offered up a chunk of change to support the La Porte community. Over 60% of NIPSCO's northwest Indiana customers lost power during the August 11 storm. It was one of the largest outages in the utility’s history.

 

Unity Foundation of La Porte County has received $400,000 from the NiSource Charitable Foundation to support disaster relief and long-term recovery efforts across the county.

 

"Our community has endured devastating damage and disruption, leaving many of our neighbors facing loss and uncertainty,” said Jeri Pat Gabbert, President & CEO of Unity Foundation of La Porte County. “As La Porte County’s community foundation, our role is to stay in close communication with local partners, bring people and resources together, and connect philanthropic generosity with community needs."

 

According to Unity Foundation, the grant allocation strengthens local recovery capacity across these essential areas:

 

• Basic Needs & Household Support: Helping residents access food and other immediate necessities following the storm.
• Property & Infrastructure Recovery: Supporting efforts to address storm-related property damage, cleanup and other recovery needs.
• Community & Resident Support: Supporting local organizations as they respond to the ongoing needs of residents.

 

Unity Foundation will distribute the funds to the following 13 local organizations:

 

• Catholic Charities
• Center Township
• Citizens Concerned for the Homeless
• Coolspring Township
• Food Bank of Northern Indiana (La Porte County)
• Meals on Wheels
• New Durham Township
• Operation Feed La Porte County
• Pax Center
• The Salvation Army
• Threads of Hope/New Carlisle Community Food Pantry
• Union Township
• United Way of La Porte County

Those recipients will announce how they plan to use the money to support storm damage recovery efforts. At least one has already done so. The La Porte County Salvation Army will offer eligible households one additional pantry visit per month through the end of October to help families replace food lost during extended power outages.