Bayou Region coalition gets big boost from Capital One

Once again, Capital One has presented the Children’s Coalition for the Bayou Region with a $25,000 donation to cover most of the expenses for the annual golf tournament at Ellendale Country Club in Houma.

Brian Dennis, the newly-elected executive director for the coalition, said, “We’ll be able to do a lot of the good things with this money and help a lot of children.”

In its fifth year, the weeklong tournament is the coalition’s main fundraiser of the year.

The Children’s Coalition is an advocacy group based in Houma that works with other nonprofit organizations and government agencies throughout Terrebonne, Lafourche and Assumption parishes to improve the lives of local children.

It serves more than 140 child-service organizations and countless children.

The money for this year’s tournament, which will be held in April, will help to fund a child-service center.

In the latter part of November, Brett Cuneo, vice president of Capital One’s business banking division, presented the sizeable donation to the coalition and Terrebonne District Attorney Joe Waitz Jr.

Dennis said Waitz was asked to participate in the presentation because his office will partner with the coalition for the new service center. “He has been a big supporter of the children’s coalition from the beginning,” he noted.

The center is in the planning stages. However, Dennis said with the funds the coalition has the go-ahead to seek potential contractors.

Dennis replaces Program Director Leilani Brunet, who served as acting executive director in the interim.

Brunet replaced founder and former director Carol Millwater, who stepped down and moved to Florida to be closer to her family.

Dennis, a native of Thibodaux, said he has big shoes to fill in his new role, especially since he replaces the coalition’s first director. “You know, Carol (Millwater) had been here since the beginning, basically running it out of her house,” he said.

Dennis is a graduate of Nicholls State University. He has been living in New Orleans for the last couple of years working for Community Coffee to help rebuild its retail stores damaged during Hurricane Katrina.

“I was really in the corporate world working for Community Coffee,” he said. “It was a challenge, but I am a country boy at heart, so I am excited to get back home and help out. I wanted to get into a position where I could make a difference.”

Dennis said he plans to continue some children’s coalition programs already in place, including an abuse-prevention program run with the help of the state Office of Addictive Disorders. It sends educators out to talk to area sixth- and seventh-graders to make them aware of the dangers of drugs.

He also hopes to keep the group’s compassion-capital grant going – federal money that the coalition uses to help grow local churches and organizations.

“It’s a capacity-building grant,” he said. “We’re building them up so that they can become sustainable organizations to help area kids.”

Finally, Dennis said he hopes to expand the children’s coalition into other areas.

For information about the Children’s Coalition of the Bayou Region, visit their Web site at www.bayoukids.org or call (985) 872-1880.