Love’s Donates $25,000 to Louisiana Flood Relief

Loves Travel Stops has donated $25,000 to the Salvation Army to help with relief efforts in Louisiana after severe flooding devastated the region.

The truck stop chain has been impacted directly by the flooding, including five of its employees from the Port Allen location losing everything. The slow-moving storm system killed at least 13 people so far and displaced thousands of others from their homes.

Port Allen is 7 miles west of Baton Rouge, which received as much as 2 feet of rain over the course of three days. The storm shut down major interstates running through the region and forced Love’s 523 in Duson to close overnight.

According to Love’s blog, two employees lost their homes, one lost a vehicle, and two more have been displaced and aren’t allowed to return home yet. Love’s has an assistance program in place to help employees most directly affected by the flooding.

Love’s employees are also acting as guides to travelers coming through the region, helping both professional and non-professional drivers navigate around the high waters as well as provide hot food and clean showers.

"We give them directions, help them with maps, show them alternative routes they can take," said Jacob Kibodeaux, operations manager of Love's 243 in Lake Charles. "We want to go above and beyond to take care of our customers."