Employees Drive Fundraiser and Company Extends Benefits to Members in Need from Hurricane Ida

Inspired by employees’ compassion, company executives more than double contribution amount.

• With members, providers, family, and friends in nearby Louisiana and Mississippi, LegalEASE employees felt emotionally driven to help.
• Employees contributed $1,880 of their own money in less than a week; Executives further donated $5,000 to raise the total to $6,880. Contributions went to https://www.coastalcommunityrelief.org/about-the-communities.
• The company also extended extra benefits (ex: insurance claim issues, Landlord-Tenant issues, contractor issues, financing, and re-financing issue) for Plan Members impacted, and provided additional support to get Plan Network Attorneys back up and running as quickly as possible.

Houston, TEXAS – LegalEASE employees know all too well the long- lasting devastation hurricanes can cause after surviving Harvey. Employees hearts ached as Hurricane Ida hit their state neighbor as one of the largest to make landfall in history. Compelled by passionate conversations happening all over the office, Ajaya Rokka, LegalEASE’s Human Resources Manager sent the first email to spark official action. Employees quickly responded, united under the idea of contributing a $10 to $20 donation to their selected charity, Coastal Community Relief. Coastal Community Relief serves the communities of Grand Isle, Louisiana and the Grand Calliou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw. In addition to the fundraiser, the company responded quickly by extending plan benefits to members in need and offering additional support to Network Attorneys affected. LegalEASE currently has close to 4,000 Plan Members and 500 attorney providers in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Rokka wrote from his heart in his email to his colleagues, “Dear Team, as you are all aware, Hurricane Ida is currently devastating much of Louisiana and Mississippi. This is one of the strongest storms to make landfall in recent history, and outside of direct flooding and high winds, over 1 million people are without power this morning. The worst seems to be yet to come as the emergency responders work to evaluate the damage. As a company, one of our guiding principles is to contribute positively to our industry, community, and our environment.

I am reaching out to start a conversation as to how we at LAP would like to support the recovery efforts that are already underway. No idea is a bad idea as we support our neighbors to the East, where many of our family and friends call home. We want to be a company that affects positive change and are in the fortunate position of being able to offer a helping hand at this time. Please reply to me directly with any ideas, big or small, of how we can be a positive light to those that need it at this time. We are relying on your ideas and creativity to drive this initiative and appreciate you using your voices. If you have any loved ones that live in the affected areas, please let the leadership team know ASAP, as well. We are prepared to help.”

His coworkers immediately replied with many great suggestions, but given the urgent timeline, they settled on an in-office fundraiser that would donate directly to disaster reliefs already in motion through the Coastal Community Relief organization.

In addition to the employee- led fundraiser, the company acted immediately in the midst of the storm, manning their Call Centers with additional information on specific resources Members might need regarding legal issues that could arise related to the disaster. The company also extended extra benefits (ex: insurance claim issues, Landlord-Tenant issues, contractor issues, financing, and re-financing issue) for Plan Members who needed flood and storm-related assistance. Furthermore, LegalEASE provided extra support by calling and emailing Clients to help Plan Attorneys when their systems were down.

“Ida was a massive hurricane. We must remember that every time a hurricane spares us, someone else is devastated…As with any storm like this, if we are not affected, we can lend a hand somewhere to get help to those employees and attorneys in the affected areas,” commented LegalEASE CEO and President, Robert Heston, proud of his Team’s communal response. 

“We were grateful in Hurricane Harvey for the help of so many in Louisiana. Having been through that similar situation, we were prepared to help our Members and Partners for Ida. We provided our Specialists with information regarding legal issues our Members might face. We reached out proactively to our Plan Attorneys to provide them with extra support. More importantly, we were grateful to be in the position as a company where we could extend plan benefits to Members in a manner that would get them the help they will need to recover from this disaster,” wrote LegalEASE CEO and President, Robert Heston.

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LegalEASE, a Legal Access Company, is an employee benefits company that provides an easy-to-use legal service platform for your employees. Since 1971, LegalEASE continues to offer robust Legal Insurance Plans to employers who see the benefit in providing this valuable service to their employees. LegalEASE plans cover employees’ legal needs, offer experienced attorneys close-by to choose from, and help them connect quickly to the right provider. Featuring the largest and most developed Plan Attorney Network (20,560+ and strictest credentialling standards in industry), and our unique Matching and Compatibility infrastructure, LegalEASE provides high-touch professional services that have and will continue to save your company and employees money, time, and unnecessary stress.

For more information, please contact Courtney Chadney-Molero at (713) 785-7400 x 3154 or Courtney_Chadney-Molero@legalaccessplans.com.

You can also view this press release here.