Hundreds of St. Tammany Parish senior citizens will be cooler this summer thanks to Cleco employees with some help from the community.

The energy company launched a “fan drive” campaign in mid-April. Through the end of May, employees held fundraisers and otherwise collected donations to help decrease the heat in the homes of area seniors. The group raised more than $2,000.

On Wednesday, a Cleco contingent from throughout the parish delivered 201 fans plus the remaining $700 to the Council on Aging St. Tammany office in Covington.

About a dozen Cleco representatives from throughout St. Tammany parish made a special delivery to the Council on Aging St. Tammany (COAST) Wednesday morning. The group brought 201 fans and a check for $700 to help the elderly cool off this summer. The gifts were the result of a six weeks long Cleco '€˜fan drive.'€™ Pictured are, from left: Scott Biggers, Cleco manager of customer and community services, and Mary Toti, executive director of COAST. (Staff Photo by Marcelle Hanemann).

Mary Toti, COAST executive director, said the fans would be distributed quickly.

“We’re going to move them to all the homebound all across the parish,” she said. “That includes people in our homemakers program, our caregivers program and our home delivered meals program.”

Toti said she was not sure of the exact numbers in those programs.

“But there are hundreds,” she said.

The additional $700 will be used for homebound utility assistance throughout the year.

As she checked out the pallets-full of fans being stacked under an awning behind the COAST building, Toti made a timely observation.

“We’re sweating here in the shade,” she said. “Imagine how it feels stuck in a house with no ventilation. And heat makes a lot of health problems, like diabetes, worse. This means a lot.”

Roxanne Barnes, Cleco director of community affairs, understands.

“Fans can be a lifesaver for those without air conditioning or those on fixed incomes who cannot afford to operate their air conditioners,” she said.

It’s about both health and economics, said Scott Biggers, Cleco manager of customer and community services. Seniors need to keep from getting too hot, and many need to keep the cost of cooling down. The fan drive was designed to help on both counts.

“We want to give the elderly less to worry about,” he said. “We want to relieve heat-related discomfort. And we don’t want a high electricity bill to dig into their food or any other bills.”

Toti appreciates the concern. This is the fourth year for the local project, she said.

“Cleco has always been there for us,” said Toti. “This is a resource that never goes away and just keeps getting better and better.”