First Operation Round Up Donations

In their initial donations from the Operation Round Up® benevolent fund, Broad River Electric Charities will award $20,000 to four local organizations that serve Cherokee, Spartanburg, and Union Counties.

The Children Shelter of the Upstate, the Ellen Hines Smith Girls Home, The Cherokee Children’s Home, and PEACHCenter Ministries will each receive $5,000 towards their mission, special projects, and initiatives.

The Children Shelter of the Upstate, which provides a safe nurturing environment for abused, abandoned and neglected children and teens from Cherokee, Spartanburg and Union Counties, plans to have an energy audit performed on their Spartanburg-based facility and apply the recommendations rendered. 

"We are truly thankful for Broad River membership's willingness to partner with our kids,” said Van Clark, Chief Executive Officer of the Children Shelter of the Upstate. “This gift will be used to reduce our monthly utility expenses, which are significant for three facilities on our campus.”

The Ellen Hines Smith Girls Home will implement the funds towards their after school and summer programs, which promote personal growth, continued learning, and healthy lifestyles. The Ellen Hines Smith Girls Home provides care for girls between 11 and 19 years old who are victims of abuse or neglect from all counties throughout the Upstate. 

“This grant allows us to ensure a summer program that promotes learning and active living through activities such as the zoo, college campuses, and cultural opportunities,” says Chamlee Loscuito, Executive Director of EHSGH. “First hand experiences such as these reinforce the fact that this community is 100-percent behind them."

 The Cherokee Children’s Home, based in Gaffney, provides food, shelter, clothing and a safe environment to displaced children from the surrounding area. According to the Director of Development Judy Nix, the funds will help fund several new projects that will be announced at a later date. 

“This money is coming at such a good time,” said Nix. “This will certainly make those projects more successful.”

PEACHCenter Ministries, Inc. serves the needy of Cherokee County by providing food, clothing, fuel, prescription medication and other emergency needs. With the down economy, the organization has seen the number of people requesting assistance increase.

“This donation was a wonderful blessing,” expressed Executive Director Tammie McGee. “In 2010, PEACHCenter helped 8,938 individuals and we had 578 new clients. We will be able to help them with kerosene, medicine and we will be able to purchase food for our pantry.”  

All monies donated are provided by Broad River Electric’s membership, most of who have been rounding up their monthly balances to the nearest dollar since October 2010. That extra change goes to a benevolent fund that will assist organizations and goodwill missions in and around Broad River’s service area. The program is voluntary and members can easily opt-out at any time by contacting the Broad River office. 

“We’ve been waiting for this day since Operation Round Up® began,” Broad River Electric Cooperative CEO and Charities Board Member Richard Baines stated. “It is a proud moment when we can represent our membership and their generosity in supporting these organizations. We look forward to more days like this as this program and its potential impact continues to grow.”

Funds from Operation Round Up® are distributed based on the discretion of a 7-member board representing the cooperative and the three major counties it serves – Cherokee, Union, and Spartanburg. Organizations wishing to request funds can contact the cooperative to begin the application process. Funds are typically distributed on a quarterly schedule. 

Broad River Electric Charities, Inc., is a philanthropic subsidiary of Broad River Electric Cooperative, which serves more than 20,000 members in Cherokee, Spartanburg, Union and Newberry counties in South Carolina and Cleveland, Polk, and Rutherford counties in North Carolina.

For more information about the Charities and the Round Up program contact Josh Crotzer.

To download an appication for donation to your organization CLICK HERE