Don Roy, LEC’s Manager of Technical Services, paid forward $500 to the Fountain Inn Kids Enrichment Center, or FIKE.
FIKE is a non-profit after-school service for children in need, offering free snacks, homework tutoring, life skill classes, fitness/recreation, and more.
Every afternoon during the school year, children come from local schools to Capstone Church in Fountain Inn, which provides the location for programs under the direction of the FIKE Center staff, tutors, and volunteers.
Don said, “I wanted to help children in need through an organization that really cares about them and their well-being. I feel like FIKE does that. I hope this gift enriches a young child.”
According to fikecenter.com, the FIKE After School program was first designed to help impoverished, at risk children with schoolwork for better understanding and improved academic performance. The children’s educational needs are identified by their teachers.
During summer break, FIKE operates an affordable summer camp with meals, literacy and STEM activities, and large group field trips to attractions in the area.
Within their mentoring program, FIKE partners with Fountain Inn Elementary School, Mentor Greenville and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Upstate to pair adult volunteer mentors with students who need extra encouragement during the school day.
Don added, “Our future lies with these young children and I feel like FIKE gives them a head start and points them in the right direction.”
Volunteers, mentors, and donations are essential to FIKE, and there are any different ways to help: preparing or providing meals, assisting with after-school reading and homework, shopping for items on FIKE’s Amazon wish list, and more. To get involved, visit fikecenter.com/volunteer or email adam@fikecenter.com.
To find out more, visit fikecenter.com/contact-us, or email fikecentersc@gmail.com.
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.