Three Watauga Organizations Awarded Grants From Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation

Boone, North Carolina (July 8, 2010) - Three organizations in the Watauga County area will receive help with projects that provide important assistance for local residents as a result of grants recently awarded by the Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation.

Sugar Grove Developmental Day School received a grant of $2,500 to help replace items that were lost or damaged due to the ice storm and extreme cold weather this winter. Also receiving a grant in the amount of $1,500 was the Western Youth Network who will use the funds to give scholarships to underprivileged youth wishing to participate in WYN’s Summer Program.

The Appalachian Senior Companion Program completes the grant recipients for the Watauga area. This organization was awarded a grant in the amount of $5,000 to help support the overall program of senior citizens offering caregiver respite and personal care services to frail, older neighbors who are at an increased risk of being institutionalized. Although listed here with the other Watauga County winners, they actually serve multi counties in the Blue Ridge service area which include Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Watauga and Wilkes.

Checks totaling $38,000 have been presented during the 2010 Spring Grant Cycle by the Foundation to eight organizations in the four Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation districts: Alleghany, Ashe, Caldwell and Watauga.

The Foundation was established by Blue Ridge Electric in 2006 to support the work of community organizations that offer valuable services to the cooperative’s members. Projects in the areas of health and wellness, education and youth, economic and community development, and environment and quality of life are the Foundation’s priorities. However, due to the current economic conditions, the Foundation’s Advisory Committee, made up entirely of members, has been focusing on grants that demonstrate more immediate assistance for members.

Funding for Foundation grants come from members participating in Blue Ridge Electric’s Operation Round Up® and Operation Round Up Plus® programs as well as an annual contribution from the profits of Blue Ridge Energies, the cooperative’s heating fuels subsidiary. Over 30,000 members are either rounding up their monthly electric bill with Operation Round Up® or adding a dollar or more with Operation Round Up plus.® Grant funding decisions are made by a Foundation Advisory Committee which is comprised of 12 representatives from the Blue Ridge districts. Non-profit agencies that serve members in the four districts are eligible to apply for grants. The deadline for the upcoming Fall Grant Cycle is September 30, 2010.

“The Foundation continues to grow and offer support to more and more members through our community organizations, and Blue Ridge Electric is grateful to the thousands of members who make this possible through Operation Round Up® and Operation Round Up Plus®,” said Doug Johnson, Blue Ridge Electric Chief Executive Officer. “It is an excellent example of members helping members in the true cooperative spirit.”

Anyone with questions about the Foundation, and agencies interested in applying for grants, may contact Grey Scheer, community relations director, at 828-759-8994 or gscheer@blueridgeemc.com.

Blue Ridge Electric is a cooperative utility serving some 73,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Avery, Wilkes and Alexander counties. For more information, visit www.BlueRidgeEMC.com.