CenterPoint Energy awarded a Community Safety Grant of $2,500 to the Big Lake Fire Department to purchase safety equipment for the Big Lake Fire Department’s new tower truck.

Mustafa Hamdani, Supervisor, Home Service Plus, at CenterPoint, presented the Community Safety Grant to Captain Nick Christenson and Deputy Chief Jeff Novak, Big Lake Fire Department.

In Minnesota this year, CenterPoint awarded 35 grants, totaling more than $85,000 to support safety equipment and projects. CenterPoint serves more than 930,000 customers in over 260 Minnesota communities.

“Safety is our core value and drives every effort we take as a company for the customers and communities we’re privileged to serve,” said Brad Steber, Vice President, Minnesota Gas at CenterPoint Energy. “Through our Community Safety Grant Program, we’re proud to support the work our emergency responders, local officials and many others do to help support health and safety across our Minnesota communities.”

CenterPoint awards program grants up to $2,500 to local government agencies working to fill funding gaps for safety materials and projects.

This year, CenterPoint Energy’s Community Safety Grant program awarded more than 90 grants totaling nearly $230,000 in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas to fund safety-related equipment and projects in local communities.

Since launching the program in 2003, CenterPoint has awarded approximately $3.5 million in grants to support more than 1,700 efforts.

Grants have enabled communities to fund various projects including public AEDs, water rescue materials, personal protective equipment for first responders, traffic control signs, utility locate devices and extraction tools to rescue people after vehicle collisions.

To learn more about CenterPoint’s commitment to the communities it serves, visit CenterPointEnergy.com/Community.