Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans, announced a new relief initiative Monday (August 30) to help with Hurricane Ida relief efforts. Benson said her organization's Gulf Coast Renewal Fund will raise money and provide vital financial resources for Hurricane Ida victims and made the initial donation of $1 million dollars. This initiative provided relief aid for the devastation left behind by Hurricane Laura for victims in SWLA exactly one year ago.

The Hurricane Ida relief will certainly go a long way in helping to provide life-saving resources to South Louisiana as the process of assessing the epic damage caused by the historic storm. Benson said in a statement regarding the Gulf Coast initiative, " We have great faith in the resilience and strength of our community and look forward to doing everything in our power to help lead in the recovery." Making the first donation of $1 million, she said they "want to support our community throughout Louisiana and the Gulf Coast."

Mrs. Benson promised more details will be coming soon in the days ahead regarding relief efforts. In the meantime anyone wanting to make a donation in to help Hurricane Ida efforts can go to NewOrleansSaints.com/hurricaneida. We know there is much work to be done to restore power and other infrastructure. The Saints/Pelecans owner has offered all of their facilities to government leaders to provide a place for residents to apply for assistance. FEMA will be set-up at the New Orleans Ochsner Sports Performance Center providing relief.

As the city makes repairs to it's infrastructure Gayle Benson said, "Together, we will overcome this challenge the way we have so many times before and will be stronger as a result." Speaking of which, the New Orleans Saints are ready to come back home to take on the Green Bay Packers. Their first regular season game will be September 12, at the all new Caesars Superdome, which had minor damage from Ida.

LOOK: Here are the best lake towns to live in

Many of the included towns jump out at the casual observer as popular summer-rental spots--the Ozarks' Branson, Missouri, or Arizona's Lake Havasu--it might surprise you to dive deeper into some quality-of-life offerings beyond the beach and vacation homes. You'll likely pick up some knowledge from a wide range of Americana: one of the last remaining 1950s-style drive-ins in the Midwest; a Florida town that started as a Civil War veteran retirement area; an island boasting some of the country's top public schools and wealth-earners right in the middle of a lake between Seattle and Bellevue; and even a California town containing much more than Johnny Cash's prison blues.

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