Operation Round Up helps fund the arts, construction projects, books for kids and more!

Members of Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative recently donated $13,009 to ten local charities and community projects through the cooperative’s Operation Round Up program. About 75% of PPEC members round up their electric bill and donate those pennies to this fund, making a huge impact in the co-op’s northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana communities.

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:

• Antwerp School; $500 for art tablets.
• Fort Jennings Fire Department; $1,300 for 36 extrication gloves.
• Four Presidents Historical Society; $500 for Monroeville Museum print materials
• Grover Hill Elementary; $1,159 for a bench made of recycled plastic
• Leipsic Community Center; $1,000 for community meals
• Paulding ACME Baseball; $1,000 to purchase lumber for the clubhouse/dugout
• Paulding Chamber; $1,000 for masonry work and landscape for Herb Monroe Park
• Paulding County United Way; $500 for the backpack drive
• Putnam County Habitat for Humanity; $1,000 for repairing two homes in Continental to meet energy efficiency standards
• Putnam County Special Olympics; $1,000 for state games, uniforms, etc.
• United Way of Putnam County; $800 for Imagination Library books for local kids
• Putnam County YMCA; $750 for swim classes for 2nd graders
• Putnam Pet Pals; $500 for Trap, Neuter, Return program for stray cats
• Red Cross of NE Indiana; $1,500 for Home Fire Relief Services (utilized recently for a Paulding County fire in April)
• Van Wert Middle School; $500 for #WhyYouMatter materials

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 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.