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LOS
ANGELES, Oct. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) presented a
$75,000 donation to Brotherhood
Crusade to support the development of the new Danny J. Bakewell,
Sr. Community Garden at the organization's headquarters in
South Los Angeles. Bakewell served
as president and chief executive officer for 35 years at
Brotherhood Crusade, a 50-year-old grassroots organization
dedicated to improving the lives of low-income, underserved,
under-represented and disenfranchised individuals. Los Angeles City
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson attended the event.
The Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. Community Garden is anticipated to
open in Spring 2025. In its first year, the garden aims to serve
200 families in South LA, enhancing access to fresh foods and
reducing food insecurity. The new garden will allow Brotherhood
Crusade to expand its existing Teaching Gardens program, educating
students on the importance of fresh produce and the healing power
of natural plants like herbs and aloe vera. The garden will also be
used for education programs, community receptions, and movie
nights.
"Thanks to the generous grant from SoCalGas, we can
significantly enhance our initiatives to promote access to green
space, health and wellness in South Los
Angeles," said Brotherhood Crusade's Chief Executive
Officer Charisse Bremond. "We
are deeply grateful for their support and thrilled to dedicate this
garden in honor of Danny J. Bakewell, Sr., our Institution Builder
who led our institution for 35 years and is a lifelong champion of
our community. This garden will host educational programs on urban
agriculture, nutrition, healing circles, and environmental
stewardship, benefiting hundreds of families in the area."
Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. currently serves as chairman of the board
of Brotherhood Crusade. He has been named one of Los Angeles' Most Influential Leaders by the
Los Angeles Times and has a long
history of social justice activism. He co-founded the National
Black United Fund and has been a key figure in the Los Angeles
Sentinel's growth since his family purchased the paper in 2004.
Bakewell also founded the Taste of Soul Family Festival, now in its
19th year, which attracts over 500,000 people and
hundreds of local businesses to Crenshaw Boulevard. The Danny J.
Bakewell Sr. Primary Center in South L.A. is named in his honor.
His leadership has made Brotherhood Crusade a premier institution
in the country.
"Danny Bakewell has dedicated his
life's work to uplifting the community with a sense of both pride
and responsibility. He set an expectation to 'do something' and set
his family in motion to create a legacy of just that. This garden
created in his honor will become a testament to this work, ever
growing, ever-changing, and thriving. Thank you to SoCalGas and
Brotherhood Crusade for honoring his impact on our community," said
Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece
Harris-Dawson.
"This day is a celebration of our shared vision for a healthier,
greener South Los Angeles. The
Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. Community Garden is a testament to our
dedication to environmental stewardship and community wellness. I
extend my heartfelt thanks to SoCalGas and Brotherhood Crusade for
their steadfast commitment to this project," said Los Angeles
City Councilmember Curren Price.
"SoCalGas is committed to making a positive difference in the
communities it serves, and our support for Brotherhood Crusade is a
testament to this ongoing dedication. The Danny J. Bakewell, Sr.
Community Garden will not only provide fresh, healthy produce but
also serve as a green oasis in the heart of the city, a gathering
place for residents, enriching the lives of all who visit," said
Andy Carrasco, SoCalGas vice
president of communications, local government and community
affairs.
According to a study from the University of
Southern California Dornsife, 1.4 million Angelenos lack
access to sufficient and healthy food due to barriers like limited
grocery stores or lack of public transportation creating food
deserts - areas with severely limited access to affordable and
good-quality fresh food. Due to their limited options, residents in
these food deserts may consume more available fast food and
non-nutritious meals, which increases the presence of health issues
such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity. With a community
garden, South LA residents will have greater access to fresh
produce, which they can incorporate into their regular diet and
move away from unhealthy ingredients previously available to
them.
SoCalGas' collaboration with Brotherhood Crusade is part of the
company's ASPIRE 2045 sustainability goals, which includes a
plan to invest $50 million to drive
positive change in diverse and underserved communities across five
years.
About Brotherhood Crusade
Brotherhood Crusade was
founded in 1968. The organization's principal mission is to
champion equality and equity by removing and/or helping individuals
overcome the barriers that deter their pursuit of success in life
and facilitate opportunities for a better quality of life by
effectuating improved health & wellness, social & economic
growth, facilitating academic success, promoting personal,
providing access to artistic excellence & cultural awareness,
increasing financial literacy, and building community agencies
& institutions.
About SoCalGas
SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States serving approximately 21
million consumers across approximately 24,000 square miles of
Central and Southern California.
SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest, most innovative
energy infrastructure company in America. SoCalGas aims to deliver
affordable, reliable, and increasingly renewable gas service
through its pipelines to help advance California's clean energy transition by
supporting energy system reliability and resiliency and enabling
the integration of renewable resources. SoCalGas is a recognized
leader in its industry and community, as demonstrated by being
named one of Reuters' Top 100 Innovators Leading the Global Energy
Transition and Corporate Member of the Year by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. SoCalGas is a
subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), a leading North American energy
infrastructure company. For more information, visit
newsroom.SoCalGas.com or connect with SoCalGas on social media
@SoCalGas.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions about the
future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees.
Future results may differ materially from those expressed or
implied in any forward-looking statement. These forward-looking
statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the
date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
In this press release, forward-looking statements can be
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process," "construct," "develop," "opportunity," "preliminary,"
"initiative," "target," "outlook," "optimistic," "poised,"
"positioned," "maintain," "continue," "progress," "advance,"
"goal," "aim," "commit," or similar expressions, or when we discuss
our guidance, priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission,
opportunities, projections, intentions or
expectations.
Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and
events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any
forward-looking statement include: decisions, investigations,
inquiries, regulations, denials or revocations of permits,
consents, approvals or other authorizations, renewals of
franchises, and other actions, including the failure to honor
contracts and commitments, by the (i) California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Internal Revenue
Service and other regulatory bodies and (ii) U.S. and states,
counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein where we do
business; the success of business development efforts and
construction projects, including risks related to (i) completing
construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget,
(ii) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if
completed, (iii) obtaining third-party consents and
approvals and (iv) third parties honoring their contracts and
commitments; macroeconomic trends or other factors that could
change our capital expenditure plans and their potential impact on
rate base or other growth; litigation, arbitration and other
proceedings, and changes (i) to laws and regulations, including
those related to tax and trade policy and (ii) due to the results
of elections; cybersecurity threats, including by state and
state-sponsored actors, of ransomware or other attacks on our
systems or the systems of third parties with which we conduct
business, including the energy grid or other energy infrastructure;
the availability, uses, sufficiency, and cost of capital resources
and our ability to borrow money on favorable terms and meet our
obligations, including due to (i) actions by credit rating agencies
to downgrade our credit ratings or place those ratings on negative
outlook, (ii) instability in the capital markets, or (iii) rising
interest rates and inflation; the impact on affordability of our
customer rates and our cost of capital and on our ability to pass
through higher costs to customers due to (i) volatility in
inflation, interest rates and commodity prices and (ii) the cost of
meeting the demand for lower carbon and reliable energy in
California; the impact of climate
policies, laws, rules, regulations, trends and required
disclosures, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on
natural gas, increased uncertainty in the political or regulatory
environment for California natural
gas distribution companies, the risk of nonrecovery for stranded
assets, and uncertainty related to emerging technologies; weather,
natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures,
explosions, terrorism, information system outages or other events,
such as work stoppages, that disrupt our operations, damage our
facilities or systems, cause the release of harmful materials or
fires or subject us to liability for damages, fines and penalties,
some of which may not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms
or insurance or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory
levels of affordable insurance; the availability of natural gas and
natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions caused by
failures in the pipeline system or limitations on the withdrawal of
natural gas from storage facilities; and other uncertainties, some
of which are difficult to predict and beyond our
control.
These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the
reports that the company has filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the
EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and
on Sempra's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely
unduly on any forward-looking statements.
Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra
Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC
(Oncor) and Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.P.I. de
C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as
the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric Company or
Southern California Gas Company, and Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra
Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities,
Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company