Ten area organizations have benefitted from the generosity of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative members by receiving an Operation Round Up grant.
A 10-person committee, comprising nine members and a co-op employee, met in late July and reviewed applications for the cooperative’s charitable giving program. It selected which ones to fund from a pool of money that grows as co-op members voluntarily round up their bills to the nearest even dollar. SVEC assists with a corporate contribution.
“I would challenge SVEC members to realize the huge difference that their combined contributions make for local nonprofits like us,” says Alex White, the assistant manager of Page One of Page County, a July grant recipient. “Even though the financial impact on individual donors is negligible, the aggregate sum of Operation Round Up funds means a lot to vital social service work right here in our valley. Pennies can make a difference.”
The total amount awarded since Operation Round Up began in 2018 exceeds $120,000. Applications are currently being accepted for a final grant cycle in 2021. Additional information, including the methods in which people can contribute to the program, is available at svec.coop/ORU.
Below is a list of the July 2021 recipients, which received $13,200 in total.
Augusta County
- Ride with Pride: To support its goal of serving those with physical, emotional and developmental special needs through a wide range of therapeutic equine activities.
Highland County
- Elegius Equine Mini Sanctuary: To assist with the employment program for young people (high school and college students) and individuals with disabilities who would have a difficult time finding jobs in the rural community.
Page County
- Page One: To continue its humanitarian mission of operating a food pantry and providing family financial assistance regarding prescriptions, medical care, mortgage payments, rental assistance and payments for vital utilities.
Rockingham County
- Brain Injury Connections: To assist brain injury survivors in accessing life skills training to support their daily living needs. Many clients continue to struggle with social isolation and rely on the organization’s support groups.
- Rockingham Educational Foundation: To support an innovative learning grant, which asks educators to provide a learning experience that actively engages students and can be replicated at other schools.
- Bridge of Hope: To support the rental assistance program, designed to first identify safe and sustainable housing for a homeless family. It affords families the opportunity to pay off debt, increase credit scores, invest in career training, look for a better job or build savings.
Shenandoah County
- Shenandoah Valley Lutheran Ministries: For the purchase of diapers toward A Small Hand, a toddler and infant pantry that serves Shenandoah County residents who are enrolled in government assistance.
Winchester/Frederick County
- Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum: To support programming that encourages learning through play at the Winchester-based children’s museum.
- Winchester Little Theatre: To support WLT4Kids, a theatrical immersion experience in which youth learn all aspects of theater during a summer session.
- Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter: To offer conflict resolution training to staff and for the rental of a portable toilet to accommodate transportation challenges for clients, who sometimes must travel up to 30 minutes by bus to reach a shelter.
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