IP Casino gives $1 million to Coast nonprofits

The Boyd Gaming and IP Biloxi Foundation donated $1 million to 37 Gulf Coast nonprofit organizations Thursday in two separate ceremonies.
Bill Boyd, executive chairman of Boyd Gaming, presented three checks in the morning presentation held outside the third floor ballrooms at the casino.
United Way of South Mississippi received a check for $40,000; Boys and Girls Club on the Gulf Coast received $60,000; and Bacot McCarty Foundation received $200,000. Bacot McCarty supports youth and schools on the Gulf Coast.
“This helps us give to nonprofits who may not receive a lot of money in this sluggish economy,” said Todd Trenchard, director of Bacot McCarty.
Duncan McKenzie, general manager and vice president of IP Casino Resort, said the foundation and grants are a way to give back to the community.
Emily Burke, IP spokeswoman, said the grants are awarded to applicants in health, education, cultural and arts programs in the local area. Since its inception in 2006, the Boyd Gaming and IP Biloxi Foundation has given out $6.5 million in grants. This year the foundation received 70 applications.
Other local organizations, or local chapters of national organizations, that received checks: Alzheimer’s Association Mississippi Chapter, American Heart Association Mississippi Gulf Coast, American Red Cross Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter, Back Bay Mission, Biloxi Excel By Five, Biloxi First, Biloxi Little Theatre, Biloxi-Ocean Springs Junior Auxiliary, Boys and Girls Club of Jackson County, CASA Harrison County, CLIMB Community Development Corporation, DREAM Program Inc., Emerald Coast Poker Run, Mississippi Gulf Coast League for Women Voters, National Association for the Advancement of Color People Biloxi Branch, Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Arts, Pink Heart Funds, Feed My Sheep, Friends of Hiller Park, Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra, Gulf Coast Women’s Center for Non-Violence, Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, Make-A-Wish of Mississippi, March of Dimes Mississippi Chapter, Mental Health Association of South Mississippi, Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, Mississippi Senior Prom, Mississippi Center for Autism and Related Developmental Disabilities, Mississippi Coast Community College, St. Vincent de Paul Community Pharmacy, The Salvation Army Mississippi Gulf Coast, United Services Organization, YMCA Mississippi Gulf Coast.