BRS Cares

When the economy crashed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it hurt many communities in the Arkansas Delta that were already struggling with poverty.

Mississippi County is the largest steel producing county reportedly in the U.S., and many of the jobs there are high paying along with the satellite industries that are connected to the steel makers.

But, poverty is still rampant in the county, and it was only exacerbated by the business closures due to the virus. Even after all the workers went back to work that year, BRS Cares President Lenore Trammell said she and others felt like there was a need in the community.

They formed a nonprofit, BRS Cares, and their first objective was to provide Thanksgiving meals. They partnered with Sam’s Club and Walmart who agreed to donate turkeys. Up to 200 meals were prepared and within 45 minutes they were all handed out across the community.

“It was a blessing that we were able to feed that many people. It was amazing the number of people that needed a Thanksgiving meal. We were grateful that we could help them,” she said.

BRS Cares serves as the charitable arm of Big River Steel. The nonprofit receives funding from BRS, she said. Their main event each year is the Thanksgiving meal, but BRS Cares has branched out into other areas of charitable work.

During the summer a number of camps are hosted in the county for students. Robotics, basketball, golf, track, baseball, football softball and others are offered. BRS Cares will pay for students to attend the camps. Preference is given to students who live in the southern part of the county, but any student in Mississippi County can be placed on a waiting list to get the camps for free, she said.

“We have kids that have never been exposed to things like golf or robotics. If you’re not exposed to those things you don’t know if you might have an aptitude for them,” she said.

BRS Cares also tries to help provide meals around Christmas to seniors. Besides funding from BRS, the organization collects donations from workers in the mill. Many of the employees buy gifts for children through the Angel Tree program. BRS Cares plans to partner with local school districts to support reading initiatives.

“We are just looking for opportunities to help,” she said.

Editor’s note: This company is a finalist for the Northeast Arkansas Outstanding Business Awards — Nonprofit Business category. Winners will be announced at a luncheon on April 15. Contact Rob Gutterridge at rgutterridge@nwabj.com for tickets.