Instead of drawing an employee’s name for the August Pay It Forward funds, Laurens Electric contributed $500 to its women’s charitable group, WIRE, to support their back-to-school supply drive.
Volunteers with WIRE, or Women Involved in Rural Electrification, were able to donate nearly 700 classroom essentials to Joanna-Woodson Elementary School.
“We began our back-to-school supply drive in July and asked for participation from our fellow employees and the public. The co-op’s Pay It Forward gift really pushed us over the top and helped us make a significant donation to one of our local schools,” says Laurens Electric’s WIRE President Jeny Landrith.
WIRE is a statewide community service organization established in 1981 through the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. Laurens Electric’s chapter consists of co-op employees and members who champion various local charities and fundraisers.
For example, Landrith and WIRE Treasurer Kerrington Armstrong recently attended a statewide meeting of volunteers who put together care packages for temporarily homeless youth as part of the Kid’s Closet Project. They were able to distribute 50 care packages locally.
Additionally, the WIRE Opportunity Scholarship is awarded to a woman who may not have been able to attend college when she graduated from high school but wants to further her education. The $2,500 one-time scholarship is presented each June to an electric cooperative member in South Carolina based on financial need and personal goals.
Want to help WIRE help more people in our community? Visit laurenselectric.com/WIRE, follow them at facebook.com/WIRELaurensElectric, or donate directly by scanning the QR code.
“We are so thankful for the support from our community,” says Landrith. “You help us to live up to our motto: ‘People Helping People.’”
The 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 will come from Laurens Electric’s charity events, which employee volunteers make possible.
Employees and the community will enable individual employees to help individuals in the community, and that’s a win-win situation.
