Entities receive help from special fund

VW independent staff/submitted information

ST MARYS — Midwest Electric recently donated $14,175 to 19 local and area charities and community projects through the cooperative’s Community Connection Fund.

Local receipients on the list include:

• Lincolnview Bible Board, $1,000, to take Lincolnview sixth graders to the Ark Encounter.
• Van Wert County Humane Society, $1,000, to help control the cat population.
• CHP Home Care & Hospice, $1,500, to purchase AED’s for the adult care program.
• Off the Streets Van Wert County, Inc., $1,200, to help get homeless persons off the streets in Van Wert County.
• Van Wert Middle School, $600, to purchase supplies for their Makerspace area.

Thanks to the 90 percent of members who round up their electric bill and donate to this fund, Midwest Electric has provided $1,361,479 to 1,166 local charitable causes since the fund’s inception in 1998.

The Midwest Electric Community Connection Fund is a voluntary charitable program. Participating members monthly electric bills are rounded up to the next dollar, with the additional pennies deposited in the fund. A board of trustees, composed of nine cooperative members and separate from the Midwest Electric Board of Trustees, oversee the application and allocation process.

Here is the full list of the latest CCF grant recipients:

• Silver Birch Foundation to support older adults who are victims of elder abuse – $500.
• American Township Fire Department for portable MARCS radios – $1,000.
• Allen County Sheriff’s Posse to purchase gas masks and tasers – $1,000.
• Children’s Developmental Center of Lima to purchase classroom supplies – $700.
• Auglaize County ESC to purchase classroom products for special needs children – $400.
• Wapakoneta High School Post Prom to provide a safe post prom celebration – $200.
• First on the Moon, Inc. to purchase a full-color interpretive panel highlighting chapters of Neil Armstrong’s life – $775.
• St. Marys Intermediate School to purchase reading books for ELA students – $1,000.
• St. Marys Area Community Band to support their Sousa Concert – $400.
• St. Marys Primary School to purchase iPads, cases, and apps for kindergarten classrooms – $400.
• St. Marys Band Parents Organization to purchase new band uniforms – $550.
• Foundations Behavioral Health Services to support their Y2Y Retreat – $1000.
• Mendon-Union Alumni Association to purchase a “Welcome” sign for the village of Mendon – $750.
• Mercer County Educational Service Center to support a wellness program for teachers and students – $200.
• Lincolnview Bible Board to take Lincolnview 6th graders to the Ark Encounter – $1,000.
• Van Wert County Humane Society to help control the cat population – $1,000.
• CHP Home Care & Hospice to purchase AED’s for the adult care program – $1,500.
• Off the Streets Van Wert County, Inc. to help get homeless persons off the streets in Van Wert County – $1,200.
• Van Wert Middle School to purchase supplies for their Makerspace area – $600.

Based in St. Marys, Midwest Electric is the not-for-profit, customer-owned electric cooperative serving 11,000 homes, farms, and businesses in Allen, Auglaize, Mercer, Van Wert, Shelby, Putnam, and Darke counties.