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SAWNEE EMC FOUNDATION- OPERATION ROUND UP DONATES $32,036 TO LOCAL CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS
(Cumming, August 30, 2005)— The Sawnee EMC Foundation – Operation Round Up program recently awarded $32,036 to local charities. “This is our largest gifting yet and we look forward to many more donations like this one”, states Blake House, Vice President of Member Services at Sawnee EMC. To date, the Sawnee Foundation has been able to donate $95,577 to charitable organizations in the area. This is only possible because of the generosity of Sawnee EMC members who willingly allow the Cooperative to round their electricity bill up to the next dollar.
To take the program a step further, the Sawnee Foundation Board members adopted a policy that allows them to donate funds to the local Red Cross to help Sawnee members who have lost their homes due to fires or natural disasters. “With all of the storms and lightning we have recently had in our area, this policy has allowed us to help thirteen (13) of our Sawnee members that fell victim to house fires,” states Mr. House.
Sawnee EMC adopted Operation Round Up in April 2003 and formed the Sawnee Electric Membership Foundation. As mentioned, Operation Round Up is a program that allows members to voluntarily “round up” their electric bills to the next dollar. Through this unique program, members of Sawnee EMC can donate “small change” and still make big differences in their communities. All, 100%, of these funds are given to qualifying 501 (c) (3) and 501 (c) (4) charitable organizations within Sawnee’s service territory. “We began “rounding up” bills in June of 2003 and, through the generosity of our members, the Foundation has been able to donate over $95,000 in the first two (2) years”, stated Cindy King, Director of External Affairs, Sawnee EMC. To learn more about the Operation Round Up program and the Sawnee Electric Membership Foundation, visit www.sawnee.com or call Customer Service at 770-887-2363. To learn more about the American Red Cross, visit www.negaredcross.org. Sawnee EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to over 128,000 members in Forsyth, Cherokee, Dawson, Hall, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Lumpkin counties. Collectively, Georgia’s 42 customer-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to 3.7 million people, nearly half of Georgia’s population, across 73% of the state’s land area. Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives now serve more customers than any other state network of EMCs in the nation. |