NEW ORLEANS, December 5, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Entergy Charitable Foundation today announced that grants totaling $723,249 will go to 63 organizations throughout Entergy's operating area. This brings the 2007 ECF grant total to more than $2.2 million.

The grants will fund such projects as the Diabetes Self-Management Training Program for the underserved of Saline County, Ark., and the Ouachita Multi-Purpose Community Action Program, which helps youth from low-income families in Ouachita Parish, La., to properly identify their career choices and take measures to obtain their goals.

In addition, the ECF awarded a grant to Y-CAP of DeSoto County, Miss., to assist in the program's mission of engaging youth in activities that promote positive self-worth, goal setting, improved behaviors, satisfactory academic performance and community service. Montgomery County and the city of Conroe, Texas, qualified for a grant that will help fund a program to promote literacy in Hispanic children who speak English as a second language.

An Oswego County, N.Y., school-based mentoring program; a Plymouth, Mass., adult literacy program; and a Brattleboro, Vt., emergency and supplemental food program are examples of grant recipients in Entergy's northeast operating areas.

"Our goal, with the ECF grants, is simple," said Patricia Riddlebarger, director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Entergy Corporation. "We want to leave the world a better place than we found it by working to create real education, employment and housing opportunities in the communities we serve. We believe that's what being a responsible corporate citizen is all about."

About Entergy Charitable Foundation

The Entergy Charitable Foundation is a private, not-for-profit foundation that is wholly funded by Entergy Corporation. The foundation's purpose is to help low-income families and individuals escape poverty by providing them with tools such as education, job training and placement, literacy, affordable housing and asset creation. The ECF accepts applications three times per year. The application submission deadline for the first 2008 cycle is Feb. 1, 2008.

For more information and to access an application form from the Entergy Charitable Foundation, look under "Our Community/Corporate and Foundation Giving" on the company Web site at http://www.entergy.com.

About Entergy Corporation

Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations.

Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.6 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and approximately 14,500 employees.

Entergy's online address is http://www.entergy.com.

Entergy Corporation

Entergy Corporation

Entergy is a Fortune 500 company that powers life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We’re investing in the reliability and resilience of the energy system while helping our region transition to cleaner, more efficient energy solutions. With roots in our communities for more than 100 years, Entergy is a nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship. Since 2018, we have delivered more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to local communities through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. Learn more at entergy.com and follow @Entergy on social media. #WePowerLife

Corporate Social Responsibility at Entergy

For more than 100 years, Entergy has powered life in our communities through strategic philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy’s corporate social responsibility initiatives help create and sustain thriving communities, position the company for sustainable growth and are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Our top CSR priorities are education/workforce development, poverty solutions/social services and environmental programs. Entergy annually contributes $16-$18 million in shareholder-funded grants to approximately 2,000 nonprofit organizations in the communities where we operate. In addition, our employees volunteer more than 100,000 hours in those communities' values at more than $3 million.

More from Entergy Corporation