Charity begins near home in Lafourche Parish

Terrebonne rings in 2017 with restoration work
January 4, 2017
OUR VIEW: Lawsuit will result in exposure
January 4, 2017
Terrebonne rings in 2017 with restoration work
January 4, 2017
OUR VIEW: Lawsuit will result in exposure
January 4, 2017

A continued slump in the Bayou Region’s oilfield economy has hit many local communities hard, and Gheens – a vest-pocket enclave wedged between La. 308 and the banks of the old Company Canal – has been no different.


Recognizing the needs of neighbors, especially some with health problems, a group of residents pooled their resources and their determination to create a foundation aimed at helping people in need close to home. A major boost from a long-time neighbor helped.

“The Gheens Needy Foundation was started to help the people we have struggling in our area. It’s hard to see so many people needing help. We’ve been able to help several people solely on donations,” said chairman Kearney Toups, one of the founders. A recent holiday fund-raiser collected over $1,300 used to help five needy families. “We have people without work trying to fight cancer and other illnesses and now we are in a position to help them.”

The foundation marks a rare formal effort for ensuring help to neighbors in small communities, an effort that is usually visible through the placement of donation jars to help meet individual needs for medical bill payment and aid through particularly difficult times. The degree of need in Gheens, Toups and other community members said, begged the more formal approach.


The success thus far, Toups said, would have been far more difficult to achieve without the help of Arlen “Benny” Cenac, owner of Golden Ranch, a prominent institution at the end of the Gheens highway.

Cenac sponsored the foundatio’s first fund-raising dinner, giving the organization a needed leg up.

The marine industrialist said he didn’t think twice about helping when the foundation requested his assistance.


“The Gheens area is a special place for me and my family, and I’m happy to be a part of a program that is going to help as many residents as possible. Too many people go without during the holiday season,” Cenac said. “We had to do something to help, and we will continue to work with the foundation throughout the year.”

Toups noted that a donation from Cenac provided an opportunity for the foundation to purchase and distribute 40 turkeys during the holiday seasoned teal and quail.

Relations between Cenac and members of the Gheens community have not always been smooth. There have been disputes over canal access and the ability of residents to hike the ranch’s lands, most of which have been resolved. Toups and other Gheens residents say that over the years Cenac has proven to be a good neighbor, and that donations to the foundation are further proof of Cenac’s good neighbor policy.


Anyone interested in donating to The Gheens Needy Foundation should call Toups at 985-637-2189.. •

Golden Ranch