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Alleghany County Community Grants Awarded
Alleghany Community Grants Awarded
(l-r): John Evans, Alleghany District and Operations Manager; Maggie Oakes-Chitwood, Alleghany JAM; Bryan Edwards, Blue Ridge Energy Board of Directors; Caroline Widner, Alleghany Partnership for Children; Veronica Guido, Haven of Hope Children’s Advocacy Center; Dwayne Bright, Laurel Springs Volunteer Fire Department; Mitch Franklin, Blue Ridge Energy Board of Directors
Alleghany County citizens will benefit from four grants worth $25,000 awarded recently to local helping agencies from Blue Ridge Energy Members Foundation for the 2023 grant cycle.
The grants are examples of why Blue Ridge Energy established the Members Foundation in 2007 to support the work of community organizations providing services that are vital to the quality of life for the cooperative’s members. Since 2007, the Foundation has awarded over $1.7 million in community grants. Projects in the areas of health, wellness, education, youth, and economic and community development are the Foundation’s priorities for support.
A total of $130,000 was awarded to 22 organizations across the Blue Ridge Energy service area for the 2023 grant cycle. Local Alleghany County agencies receiving grant awards include:
- Laurel Springs Volunteer Fire Department – $10,000 will purchase an E-series Zoll cardiac monitor to help provide excellent patient care;
- Alleghany Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) - $5,000 to help install insulation in the large performance room used for student performances, teaching space, and community concert events;
- Alleghany Partnership for Children – $5,000 to provide a safe place for children to visit with their parents;
- Haven of Hope Children's Advocacy Center is a program of Alleghany Partnership for Children - a $5,000 grant to purchase a recording/audio system for one-on-one interviews with child victims to obtain and record accurate information and to cause less anxiety to the child.
During 2023, the Foundation also provided crisis funding assistance to more than 1,200 Blue Ridge Energy members needing emergency help to pay their electric and fuel bills. While the Foundation funds crisis assistance, local helping agencies evaluate needs and determine who qualifies for assistance.
Funding for Foundation grants and crisis assistance comes from members participating in Blue Ridge Energy’s Operation Round Up® and Operation Round Up Plus® programs and an annual contribution from profits of the cooperative’s subsidiaries, Blue Ridge Energy Propane and Fuels, LLC, and RidgeLink, LLC. Over 23,500 members are either rounding up their monthly electric bill with Operation Round Up or adding a dollar or more with Operation Round Up Plus. Members also contribute by donating some or all of their annual capital credits.
Anyone with questions about the Foundation or agencies interested in applying for grants may contact Tasha Rountree, director of community relations, at 828-759-8994 or trountree@blueridgeenergy.com.
Blue Ridge Energy is a member-owned electric cooperative serving some 78,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties and parts of Wilkes, Avery, and Alexander counties. It also includes a propane heating fuels subsidiary and a business-to-business telecommunications subsidiary. Learn more at www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com.
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