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On Tuesday, the Walmart Foundation awarded Cajun Navy Ground Force with a $50,000 grant, supporting Cajun Navy’s ongoing relief efforts in Mayfield, Kentucky following this month’s catastrophic tornadoes.
The foundation deployed six of its members to Kentucky to establish a SAFE Camp (Swift Action Force Emergency Camp) a mobile unit that provides food, water, and medical care. The foundation set up its camp in a Walmart parking lot in Mayfield.
Cajun Navy Ground Force Executive Director Rob Gaudet said the partnership with Walmart has been in the making for over five years. “Cajun Navy has been working towards a partnership with Walmart since 2016. I began working with consultants out of Bentonville, Arkansas and we’ve been in contact ever since,” said Gaudet. “When they saw what we were doing after Hurricane Ida, they reached out to me,” he added.
“When we set up a SAFE camp in the Walmart Parking lot in Houma following Ida, Walmart donated a lot of supplies along with many other big corporations. Walmart’s General Manager in Houma actually helped unload supplies, that’s just how close of a partnership we’re developing,” Gaudet said.
Gaudet said Walmart reached out to CNGF once again after discovering the organization set up a SAFE camp at the Mayfield location. “Walmart reached out to us during the Kentucky tornados and said we want to talk, we want to figure out how you guys can do an official SAFE camp in the Walmart parking lot,” said Gaudet. “Before we were just using their parking lot because they were closed, but I’ve always done it this way because I knew I wanted to have a partnership with the company. I gave them a budget a few days later, less than what they gave us, which is $50,000,” he added.
Gaudet said the grant will be used to continue providing relief efforts to citizens of Kentucky, providing team members, equipment, and supplies, which will be distributed in the Walmart parking lot.
To make a donation to the Cajun Navy Ground Force, visit https://cajunrelief.org/
