Rounding Up

Operation Round Up Grants Help Samson Library, Elementary School

Wiregrass Electric Cooperative officials join members of the Operation Round Up board and the Samson Elementary School administration at a recent check presentation. The grant funded the purchase of a new poster-making machine.

The Samson Public Library looks a little brighter these days with new carpeting and paint on the walls.

The renovations were covered in part by a $10,000 grant from Wiregrass Electric Cooperative’s (WEC) Operation Round Up Charitable Foundation.

Up the road, Samson Elementary School bought a new poster maker with a $7,849 Operation Round Up grant. The piece of equipment, which can print on smaller card stock as well as make large posters, replaced a machine that no longer worked.

“This poster maker we use every day, and we didn’t realize how important it was until we didn’t have it anymore,” Samson Elementary School Principal Meme Stafford says.

Since its creation in 2015, the Operation Round Up Charitable Foundation has raised over $1.5 million, says Stevie Sauls, WEC vice president of member services and communication.

WEC members who participate in Operation Round Up voluntarily round up their utility bills to the next whole dollar. Roughly 85% of members take part in the program. The foundation funds are supplemented by donations from employees and proceeds from an annual golf tournament.

ORU grants support local schools, emergency responders, nonprofits, and community programs. Operation Round Up awards about $35,000 annually in scholarships for traditional and nontraditional students, as well as those interested in the lineworker school at Wallace Community College. Operation Round Up also funds the Silent Heroes of the Wiregrass program — a partnership with WTVY that recognizes local organizations and individuals who help the community.

An independent board made up of 9 WEC members reviews grant applications and decides how money is distributed.

“We’re so thankful for the members and the board members for supporting the program and letting us continue to do it for things like this that are most needed in the communities,” Sauls says.