Members of Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative recently donated $13,472 to 17 local charities and community projects through the cooperative’s Operation Round Up program.

Thanks to the 80% of members who round up their electric bill and donate to this fund, PPEC has provided more than $740,940 to northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana communities since 2010.

Participating members round up their monthly electric bill to the next dollar, with the extra pennies being used to help fund charities and groups in their communities. Each quarter, the funds are dispensed to local causes that applied for funding.

The most recent donation recipients include:

• Challenged Champions Equestrian Center: $500 to help cover one horse’s costs
• Children’s Hunger Alliance: $1,000 to support the weekend meal program for Paulding and Putnam counties
• Delphos City Schools – PBIS/ALT team: $500 to purchase stress balls and team shirts for the PBIS/ALT team
• Fort Jennings Volunteer Fire Department: $1,000 to purchase a ventilation fan
• Franklin Elementary School: $750 to purchase sensory items for students
• Friends of the Paulding Co. Park District: $800 to provide funding for Port-A-Johns
• Glandorf Park Board Association: $1,000 to help fund the Music Garden project
• Grover Hill Fire Fighters: $1,000 to fund auto extrication training for two firefighters
• Off the Streets Van Wert County: $1,200 to provide security deposits for two homeless individuals/families
• Ottawa-Glandorf Band Boosters: $1,000 to fund new instruments and repairs
• Paulding County Relay for Life: $500 to support the Cancer Survivors Dinner
• Paulding Schools Blessing in a Bag: $1,200 to support the after-school food program
• Paulding Youth Ball Association: $500 to fund a utility vehicle for field maintenance
• Putnam County CIN Special Olympics: $1,000 to paint the gym with a new mascot and colors
• United Way Putnam County: $500 to help fund the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program books.
• Van Wert County Council on Aging: $522 to purchase six new activity tables for the senior center
• YMCA of Van Wert County: $500 to replace life jackets

Photos of each recipient can be found on PPEC’s Facebook page.

Operation Round Up was started in 2010 as a way to give back to PPEC’s communities. Groups in both Ohio and Indiana can apply.

Organizations can apply for Operation Round Up assistance by contacting Paulding Putnam Electric Co-op’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Samantha Kuhn, at skuhn@ppec.coop or visiting www.ppec.coop/operation-round. If you want to participate by rounding up your monthly bill, call PPEC’s office at 800-686-2357. The average member’s donation is about $6 per year.