November’s recipient of the employee Pay it Forward funds, Contract Superintendent Barry Hodges, paid forward $500 to Mrs. McNeely’s 4th grade class at Fork Shoals Elementary School.
Barry said, “School teachers spend so much time with these children and they see the needs that aren’t being met. Often the teachers will spend their own money on classroom supplies, coats and hats, and food to send home on the weekends because some children don’t get enough to eat.”
Barry is familiar with the budget shortfalls many teachers face – Mrs. McNeely is his daughter.
Hope McNeely said, “This generous donation to my classroom will help meet the demand for classroom supplies and students’ needs, but the Pay It Forward program provided something else for my students: character building. Your kindness has made a lasting impression on our hearts.”
Through Laurens Electric’s Pay It Forward program, every 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.
