HOMINY, Okla. — Christmas came early for small communities in Osage County as Energy Transfer, a natural gas and crude oil carrier, distributed $35,000 in holiday donations to seven local organizations, including $5,000 each to Hominy Fire Department and Osage Nation's Food Distribution Program.
The generous donation will help expand services for families in need and provide equipment for rural fire departments in the county.
"We're making a $35,000 donation all over the county, divided up into seven different entities, I guess you could say, or food pantries and fire departments," Jermy Evans, the director of operations at Energy Transfer, said.
Those seven recipients include:
- Barnsdall Fire Department, 412 N 5th St, Barnsdall, OK 74002
- Shirley Cook Memorial Food Bank, 200 W. Chestnut Ave, Barnsdall, OK 74002
- Pawhuska Fire Department, 900 Lynn Ave, Pawhuska, OK 74056
- Help Works Food Pantry, 219 Lincoln Ave, Pawhuska, OK 74056
- Osage Nation Food Pantry, 20 Sun Ave, Hominy, OK 74035
- Hominy Fire Department, 203 W. Pine, Hominy, OK 74035
- Pawnee/Osage CASA, 500 Harrison Rm. 100, Pawnee, OK 7405
The Osage Nation Food Distribution Program serves 250 tribal households throughout the county with fresh produce, canned foods, and meat. Director Gayla Carnagey said the donation will allow them to expand their offerings.
"It is exciting because we have a lot of participants and a lot of them are low-income families. We have a lot of elders that come in, and a lot of them are staying home, and a lot of them to add this to their meat, to add this to their freezer to keep," Carngey said.
The distribution center plans to use the money to purchase breakfast meats, such as bacon and sausage, for families.
Meanwhile, the Hominy Fire Department will use its $5,000 donation for new equipment.
Fire Chief Coby Surrittee said the department covers 625 square miles of the county with only 16 firefighters.
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They do, however, receive help from the Osage Nation Wildland Fire Department when needed.
"It is a nice supplement to a budgeted fire department to allow us to possibly purchase some equipment that we can't afford with our budget," Surrittee said.
Both organizations expressed gratitude for the unexpected holiday gift that will help them better serve their community.
"We're extremely grateful to Energy Transfer for the generous donation to the fire department. So hopefully we can utilize that in a way that benefits the city and the fire department together," Surrittee said.
Carngey echoed the sentiment, saying the donation will make a significant impact on the families they serve.
"I mean, it helps us a lot, and our participants, they're really gonna love this," Carngey said.
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