Contributed report
Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association (WH) members who participate in Operation Round Up (ORU) donated grants totaling $78,500 in October. ORU has awarded more than $4.9 million since it began in 1994.
ORU participants allow their electric bills to be rounded up to the nearest dollar. The rounded amount is then used for donations supporting local programs. Approximately 90% of WH’s members participate in the ORU program, contributing a total of almost $20,000 each month. ORU’s board manages the donated money, which is held in a trust fund. Through a selection process and review of guidelines, the ORU trustees evaluate funding requests on a bimonthly basis. The ORU trust board donated the following on behalf of WH members at their October meeting:
• $10,000, Buffalo Rotary Club, funds to support Adopt-A-Family to purchase grocery and gas cards.
• $10,000, CROSS Services, funds to support purchase of truck for rescue of healthy perishable food from local grocery stores.
• $10,000, Lake Ridge Care Center of Buffalo, funds for gently used reliable van for recreation program.
• $10,000, Love INC., funds to support Fresh Start Program.
• $10,000, Senior Community Services, funds to support senior center programs for Monticello and Crow River seniors.
• $10,000, True Friends, funds to replace boiler at Camp Courage’s Woodland cabin.
• $5,000, Annandale Youth First, Inc., funds to provide student-to-student mentorship programs.
• $5,000, Pay It Forward Fund, funds for breast cancer victims to pay for utilities, housing, medical, transportation, phone, or food.
• $5,000, Washburn Center for Children, funds to provide mental health care for children.
• $1,500, My Brother’s Keeper, funds to support quilting supplies for blankets for those experiencing homelessness.
• $1,000, Buffalo Farmers Market, funds for children to participate in the Power of Produce program.
• $1,000, Friends of the Monticello Library, funds to purchase books for Babies Program. Those interested in ORU funds can learn more about the types of activities ORU supports and find the grant application by visiting bit.ly/WH-ORU, emailing oru@whe.org, or calling Lisa Zipp, ORU Trust Administrator, at (763) 477-6126.
Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric utility that provides power to rural Wright County and western Hennepin County. The cooperative has been a corporate citizen to the area since 1937 and currently serves more than 59,000 electric accounts. It is headquartered in Rockford.