“Bringing the Heat”…And Spreading The Warmth

by Kevin Greiner

Earlier this month at Gas South we announced that we would be supporting two of Georgia’s largest human services agencies through a unique promotion with the Atlanta Braves. As we did in 2010, Gas South will again ‘Bring the Heat,’ pledging a donation of $50 every time an Atlanta Braves pitcher strikes out an opposing batter during the 2011 season. At the end of the season, Gas South will divide the proceeds between the Salvation Army’s Project SHARE and the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. In 2010, the Braves pitching rotation recorded 1,241 strikeouts, resulting in a total donation of more than $62,000.

But this donation represents only a fraction of the support that we provide each year to the communities we serve. At Gas South we strive to be good corporate citizens and good neighbors. We believe that helping – whether serving as mentors in local schools, sponsoring a charity fundraiser like CredAbility’s Purse Strings to provide financial education to low-income women, or coordinating the collection of personal items for families in need – is not just good business, but is one of our corporate responsibilities. Partnering with organizations such as United Way and Salvation Army allows our support to go even further.

For example, consider the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, the headquarters of which is located in the area covered by East Atlanta Patch. This organization serves tens of thousands of families in the metro area by collaborating with other human services agencies that provide education, childcare and nutrition services, assistance to homeless persons, job placement assistance, financial counseling and much, much more.

At the end of the baseball season, when Gas South will donate half the ‘Bring the Heat’ proceeds to the United Way, we know that the agency will be able to leverage this aid to support numerous programs that serve countless local families. In short, the United Way will help assure the maximum impact of Gas South’s donation is realized.

The United Way and Salvation Army also have partnered with Gas South to raise awareness of our Pay-As-You-Go program, a unique rate plan developed specifically for natural gas consumers facing financial challenges or who may have had past credit problems. Pay-As-You-Go requires no deposit or pre-payments and has been the right choice for more than 15,000 Georgia families who are currently receiving natural gas service under our program. Because of these advantages, the United Way lists Pay-As-You-Go among its 211 help line resources for energy assistance programs.

At Gas South we fundamentally believe in supporting the communities we serve and working to positively impact the lives of families across our state. But we also recognize that our efforts are multiplied when we are able to partner with organizations such as the United Way, the Salvation Army, MUST Ministries, St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Center for Family Resources, CredAbility and many others – that have deep roots and broad connections. At the end of the day, we are all committed to working together to make our communities better places to live, for everyone.

Mr. Greiner is president and chief executive of Gas South LLC in Atlanta.