The fundraising efforts organized by local people provide Christmas gifts for hundreds of underprivileged children in the community and aim to bring some joy to many families who are struggling at this time of year.
The towns of Centreville in Mississippi and Aliceville in Alabama have partnered with Toys for Tots, a national toy drive founded over 70 years ago and co-ordinated by volunteers. Drax donated $1000 worth of toys and Christmas gifts which will be delivered by the Police Department on Christmas Day, to ensure that no child goes without any presents this Christmas.
Kimberly Montgomery, Centreville City Clerk, said:
“The past few years have been hard for our community and this is a way for local people and businesses to give back. On behalf of the town of Centreville, I’d like to thank Drax for helping us in our endeavours to support those less fortunate during the festive season. It’s really appreciated and demonstrates the value of working together.”
Drax also donated $500 of gift cards to Gloster’s Santa’s Helpers program which provides gifts to disadvantaged young people and contributed candy to the Gloster Christmas parade.
Aliceville Toys for Tots donation
Executive Vice President of Drax’s Pellet Operations, Matt White said:
“I hope the donation of toys and gift cards will help families and children who are struggling this Christmas. Drax has a long history of supporting our local communities and it’s important that we continue to do so, especially this year when fundraising efforts are being impacted by the ongoing effects of the Covid pandemic.”
Drax is committed to supporting the communities local to its operations through a variety of measures that include sponsoring educational programs and providing support in times of crisis, including during the Covid-19 pandemic and recent natural disasters such as Hurricane Ida.
Top image caption: Centreville Police Department collecting the Toys for Tots donation from Drax employees
ENDS
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Megan Hopgood
Communications Officer
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T: (+44) 07936350175
Editor’s Notes
Headquartered in Monroe, LA, with operations in the Southeastern U.S., Drax is committed to supporting the communities in which it operates by promoting sustainable forestry and investing in local economic development. It is part of British energy company Drax Group.
Drax produces sustainable compressed wood pellets, used by Drax Power Station in England to generate renewable electricity for millions of UK homes and businesses.
Around two thirds of the sustainable biomass Drax uses each year comes from the US, where Drax owns and operates three pellet plants producing compressed wood pellets sourced from sustainably managed working forests in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.
The plants also deliver economic growth and jobs in the US south.
About Drax
Drax Group’s purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technology.
Its 3,400 employees operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties.
For more information visit www.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
Pellet production and supply:
Drax owns and has interests in 17 pellet mills in the US South and Western Canada which have the capacity to manufacture 4.9 million tonnes of compressed wood pellets (biomass) a year. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax’s pellet mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
Customers:
Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.
It offers a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
To find out more go to the website www.energy.drax.com
