Staking Technician Karla Lowe paid forward $500 to Laurens Electric’s chapter of WIRE – or Women Involved in Rural Electrification – a community service organization consisting of electric cooperative employees and members who champion various local charities and fundraisers.
Karla said, “Most people don’t really know all the great things WIRE does.”
For instance, during the pandemic, WIRE chapters across the state worked with the South Carolina Department on Aging to provide 600 bags of hygiene items for seniors in long term care facilities in rural communities.
“We just wanted them to know that they are not forgotten,” said Peggy Dantzler, state coordinator for WIRE.
WIRE also partners with the United Way and Piedmont Agency on Aging to provide Bags of Love to seniors on Valentine’s Day, makes back to school donations to area elementary schools in the fall, sponsors a Christmas Angel Tree to help local families celebrate the holidays, and helps pay power bills for members in need.
But as Karla points out, “In the past couple of years during the pandemic, WIRE has not been able to fundraise as much as usual.”
Sherri Davenport, LEC’s WIRE President agrees, adding, “The past few years have been tough for WIRE, as it has been for so many others.”
Thinking of WIRE’s unique capability to reach the most vulnerable in our communities, Karla decided to pay forward $500 to “help support WIRE in their mission to help local families and children in need.”
To find out more, volunteer, or donate to WIRE, contact Sandi Boazman at sandib@laurenselectric.com or 864-682-3141 Ext 1403.
Donations can be mailed to:
Laurens Electric Cooperative
PO Box 700
Laurens, SC 29360
Attn: WIRE/Stacy Wilson.
Laurens Electric’s Pay It Forward program began in 2015.
Every Laurens Electric Cooperative employee is entered into a random drawing to receive $500 to pay forward in any way they choose.
Each month a new name is drawn, and the employee then has one month to apply the funds toward their own act of kindness.
This initiative is budget-neutral; the funds come from Laurens Electric’s charity events, which employee volunteers make possible.