The Dow Chemical Company Foundation will present a check in the amount of $400,000 to New Orleans City Park to assist in the ongoing effort to rebuild the New Orleans institution.
The money will be used to replace the ferris wheel in the park’s Carousel Gardens Amusement Park and to aid, via sponsorship, Celebration in the Oaks, the park’s largest annual fundraiser.
The replacement of the ferris wheel, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, will be an integral part of revitalizing the amusement park.
The new “Dow Ferris Wheel” will be bigger and better. Instead of rising 50 feet with 36 passengers as it did pre-Katrina, the updated attraction will tower 67 feet into the air with 48 passengers aboard.
It is expected to be operational next spring.
“It’s hard to have an amusement park without a ferris wheel,” John Hopper, Chief Development Officer for New Orleans City Park said. “Thanks to the Dow Foundation, area residents will be soaring to new heights next spring when the new ferris wheel is installed.”
In addition to the replacement of the Ferris wheel, part of the money will be used to sponsor the annual holiday event Celebration in the Oaks. This event has become a treasured part of holiday tradition in New Orleans and all of southeast Louisiana.
“We at Dow are happy to play a part in the rebuilding of City Park,” Nawzer Parakh, site leader for Dow in Louisiana, said. “Being the largest chemical company in Louisiana, we have felt a sense of responsibility since Hurricane Katrina came ashore, to help rebuild not only in our local areas where we have facilities, but in New Orleans as well. City Park is a place where families and friends have come for decades to enjoy life. That is a culture that is still very much alive in New Orleans.
“We want to play a part in helping it flourish.”
In other industry news, Valero employees completed their 2007-2008 United Way campaign by raising $829,000.
Of the funds contributed, employees pledged $521,000. The remaining amount was raised by company matching funds and direct contributions to United Way events.
A United Way Celebration was held to thank the St. Charles employees for their generosity throughout the pacesetting campaign.
Not only did the employees reach 100 percent participation, but several of them also participated in fundraising activities such as golf, billiards, a football toss, a bake sale, a fishing tournament and other events.
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