By Bonnie Culverhouse
The heat is already on, and it’s gearing up to be a record breaker as far as temperatures go.
Michael and Chequella Walker and the Walker Holding Group are already on top of things, collecting fans and monetary contributions to purchase fans. This is their seventh year as fan fans, and the project has grown every summer.
“My wife and I started this because we wanted to help the elderly who couldn’t afford to run air conditioning,” Walker said. “Their utility bills were just too high and they couldn’t pay them.”
Walker said he really didn’t know if fans would help in the sweltering heat, but he thought to collect them for the elderly could be beneficial.
“I asked the public for about 20 fans that first year, and we got over 100, and from there on it’s just been building,” he said. “If I had to put a number on it, I’d say we’ve given away close to 500 fans … not counting this year’s drive.”
After they started with the elderly, the Walkers began to see a need in other households that weren’t made up of the elderly but still had trouble staying cool and paying utility bills.
“We look out for the elderly first, but then we start giving them to anybody who needs them,” he said. “If you know your neighbor needs one, just contact us. They can come get one or we will take a fan to them.”
While the Walkers are fans of fan drop off at their residence – 112 W. Roosevelt Drive, Minden, La. – between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. July 4, that is simply a time frame that isn’t hard and fast.
“We will have a tent set up at our house, and people can just drop them off, he said. “But we will start taking them right now and keep going as long as people donate and as long as there is a need.
There’s also no hard and fast rule about the type of fan.
“We mostly collect what I call box fans,” he said. “But we will take any size. If a person wants to go to Walmart and buy one, then put our names on it, we will go pick it up.”
Contact information for the Walkers is Michael: 318-210-1799, Chequella: 318-707-3532. To make a monetary donation using Cash App: $WarehouseMike or $ChequellaWalker.
