Red Cross and LG&E team up to help area residents protect against fire emergencies

Organizations' volunteers participating in Sound the Alarm efforts for utility's Day of Caring

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) - As National Preparedness Month rounds toward its close, the Louisville chapter of the American Red Cross and Louisville Gas and Electric Company are combining efforts, helping area residents prepare for and protect against fire emergencies. LG&E employees are participating in the volunteer effort for the utility's 14th annual Day of Caring, which takes place the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 25.

Day of Caring is part of LG&E's and its sister utility, Kentucky Utilities Company's, annual employee-giving campaign called Power of One, which brings together monetary giving and volunteer work.

In Louisville, more than 50 LG&E employee volunteers are splitting up into three-person, Sound the Alarm In-Home Visit teams. A nationwide Red Cross program, Sound the Alarm works to reduce the number of deaths and injuries from home fires. Volunteers participating in the program install working smoke alarms, teach residents how to prepare for home fires and other disasters, and provide a white board used to help them map out a 2-minute Home Fire Escape plan. Since the inception of the home fire campaign in October 2014, Kentucky leads the country with 46 lives saved as a result of the program.

'Of nearly 64,000 disasters a year the Red Cross responds to, the majority are home fires, which is why this nationwide effort was started,' said Daniel Wirth, Kentucky Region Red Cross disaster services director. 'Combining with the workforce of corporate partners like LG&E helps us spread out and cover more ground as we work to help protect area residents, so we're thrilled to be able to team up like this.'

'Just as safety is a top priority throughout our business, we want to help ensure it's a top priority for families in across the communities we serve,' said Lonnie Bellar, LG&E and KU Chief Operating Officer and co-chair of the 2018 Power of One campaign. 'Getting out in our neighborhoods and participating in efforts like this that can really make a difference for residents is important to our employees and a big part of our company culture.'

In addition to the Sound the Alarm Day of Caring event in Louisville, LG&E and KU is also holding a Day of Caring event in Lexington. More than two dozen of the company's employee volunteers there will join with the Fayette County Sheriff's Office and other community leaders to install energy-efficient LED bulbs in porch lights on homes throughout the community in an effort to help make neighborhoods safer.

In 2017, the company's Power of One Campaign raised more than $2 million thanks to voluntary contributions from employees and additional support from the LG&E and KU Foundation. Nearly 70 percent of LG&E and KU employees participate in the campaign through recurrent payroll deductions - a participation rate that is more than twice the national average for employee payroll donation in charitable giving.

Visit lge-ku.com to find out more about the company's community outreach efforts.

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Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve nearly 1.3 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 326,000 natural gas and 411,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 553,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. More information is available at www.lge-ku.com and www.pplweb.com.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visitredcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

For further information: call the LG&E and KU media hotline at 502-627-4999.

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PPL Corporation published this content on 25 September 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 25 September 2018 17:43:03 UTC