Contact: Cindy Badgett
Director of External Affairs
678-455-1539
email: Cindy.Badgett@Sawnee.com

Small Change Makes a Big Difference in local communities.    Sawnee EMC members that participate in the Operation Round Up program have made a huge difference within their communities. Since inception, the Sawnee Foundation has donated over $400,000 to local charitable organizations and this quarter was no different. On November 27, 2007, the Sawnee Foundation board awarded $50,052.86 to eleven (11) local charities.

·         CASA for Children                                              $6,555.00        Cherokee Co.

·         Bethany Place, Merismos Minitries                      $13,516.60      Cherokee Co.

·         Girls on the Run                                                    $1,000.00        Forsyth Co.

·         L.E.A.D.E.R.                                                        $1,408.00        Forsyth Co.

·         Big Brothers Big Sisters                                       $1,800.00        Forsyth Co.

·         EnAble of Georgia                                                $3,177.26        Fulton Co.

·         Habitat for Humanity                                           $9,260.00        Fulton Co.

·         Prevent Blindness Georgia                                   $4,656.00        Forsyth Co.

·         Family Relations Program                         $3,780.00        Hall Co.

·         Abba House                                                          $2,400.00        Forsyth Co.

·         St. Vincent de Paul; St. Brigid Parish                  $2,500.00        Fulton Co.

All of the 501(c) charitable organizations must complete an application request for funding.  The Foundation Board then reviews and investigates all requests.

The Sawnee Electric Membership Foundation consists of nine (9) volunteer Board members; one (1) from each of the nine (9) geographical districts within the Sawnee EMC service territory.

Participation in the Operation Round Up program is easy and completely voluntary. Sawnee EMC members can choose to sign up and automatically have their electric bill rounded up to the next dollar each month or they can choose the “round up” option on their bill on a monthly basis. “A member that participates in Operation Round Up will donate an average of $6.00 a year or $12.00 a year if they are on budget billing,” states Cindy Badgett, Director of External Affairs. “The donated funds help out in several ways. The funds can be donated to local charitable organizations, to help teachers expand the learning experience with Bright Ideas, and to fund the Sawnee Foundation Youth Scholarship program.”

For more information about the Operation Round Up program, please call Cindy Badgett, Director of External Affairs at 678-455-1539 or email cindy.badgett@sawnee.com. To view a complete list of grant recipients visit www.sawnee.com.

About Sawnee EMC:

Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation is a distribution electric cooperative headquartered in Cumming, Georgia.  Sawnee serves electricity to over 142,000 accounts in seven (7) counties of greater north Georgia.  Sawnee’s assets exceed $368 million with annual energy sales of 2.23 billion and revenue of $201 million.  With over 300 dedicated employees, Sawnee’s team of professionals meets the needs of its member-owners through its complex network of over 9,420 miles of distribution facilities.  Georgia’s 42 electric cooperatives now serve more customers than any other state network of EMCs in the nation.