| April
2006
For Immediate Release
Contact: Vicky Herkenhoff
Position: Communications Specialist
Stearns Electric Association
Phone: 320-259-6601
1-800-448-1737
Fax: 320-259-7099
Area
organizations to receive fund from
Stearns Electric Association Operation Round Up® Trust Fund
April 10, 2006: Thanks to the
generosity of Stearns Electric Association members, the Stearns
Electric Trust Board recently awarded $27,500 in Operation Round
Up® grants to 80 area organizations. Since its inception in
1993, the program has awarded over $860,000 to local charitable
organizations and community projects in the Stearns Electric
Association service territory. Money for the program is
collected from Stearns Electric members, who allow their monthly
electric bills to be rounded up to the next highest dollar.
Nearly 72 percent of the co-op’s customers are participating
in the charitable program. In 2005, each member’s donation
averaged $4.73. The donated money is placed in a special trust
fund. Through this charitable giving program, the following
organizations received grants in March:
Fire Departments –
Bowlus Fire and Rescue ($1,000), Paynesville Fire Department
($500),
Sauk Centre Fire Department ($500) and Upsala Fire Department
($250).
Emergency Responders –
Upsala First Response ($250) and Osakis First Responders ($200).
Health Groups – Camp
Sunfish, Inc. ($300), Belgrade Nursing Home ($250), Friendship
Ventures ($250), Leukemia and Lymphoma Society ($100) and
Muscular Dystrophy
Association ($100).
Parks & Lake Associations
– City of Grey Eagle Playground ($500), St. Stephen Park Board
($500), Big Swan Lake Improvement Association ($100) and Little
Birch Lake Association
($100).
Sports & Recreation Groups
– St. Nicholas Athletic Association ($250) and Swanville
Sportsmen Wildlife Protection Club ($100).
Community Organizations
– Oasis/Share-A-Meal ($500), Great River Arts Association
($250), Grey Eagle Community Library ($250), Holdingford Women
of Today ($250),
Paynesville Area Historical Museum ($250), Stearns History
Museum ($250) and St. Cloud
Symphony Orchestra ($100).
Senior Programs –
Holdingford Senior Citizens ($500).
Food Shelves – Albany
Food Shelf, Brooten-Belgrade-Elrosa Food Shelf, Caritas Family
Services, Eden Valley Food Shelf, Good News Food Shelf, Heart
& Hands Food Shelf,
Holdingford Food Shelf, Kimball Food Shelf, Long Prairie Food
Shelf, Melrose Area Food
Shelf, Morrison County Food Shelf, Outreach Food Shelf,
Paynesville Community Services,
St. Benedict’s Food Shelf, St. Joseph Community Food Shelf,
St. Stephen Food Shelf, SE
Central Stearns County Foodshelf and Sauk Centre Food Shelf. All
food shelves received
$500.
School Scholarship –
Apollo High School, Eden Valley-Watkins High School, Holdingford
High School and Royalton High School. The four schools received
scholarships in the amount
of $500 each.
Schools Providing Chemical
Free Lock-in – Albany, Apollo, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa,
Cathedral, EdenValley-Watkins, Holdingford, Little Falls, Long
Prairie, Melrose, Osakis,
Paynesville, Rocori, Royalton, St. John’s Prep School,
Sartell-St. Stephen, Sauk Centre,
Swanville, Technical High School and Upsala. Each school
received $200.
Individuals – Two
individuals received $300 each.
Youth Programs – Boys
and Girls Clubs of Central MN ($500), Boy Scout Troop 21, St.
Cloud ($500), Boy Scout Troop 66, Brooten ($500) and Richmond
Little League ($250).
Miscellaneous – Central MN Emergency Services Chaplaincy
($500), Cold Spring Alano Inc.
($500), St. Cloud Community Special Olympics ($500), Central MN
Blind Association
($300), Central MN LifeCare Center ($250), Central MN Re-Entry
Project ($250), WACOSA
($250) and Central MN Sexual Assault Center ($200).
Nearly 72% of Stearns Electric
members contribute to Operation Round Up; however,
participation is strictly voluntary. Members who choose not to
take part, may withdraw by
simply notifying the Cooperative of their decision at any point.
Feel free to call the office at
(320) 259-6601 or (800) 448-1737.
The Stearns Electric Association
Trust Board, a group of citizens that operates independently
of the Cooperative, administers the trust fund. The Trust Board
evaluates all funding requests
and decides how to distribute the funds.
Operation Round Up® is an
ongoing program. Funds will continue to be collected and
donated to qualifying worthwhile organizations and projects.
The deadline for the next round
of funding is June 26, 2006. Application forms are available
by calling Stearns Electric at (320) 259-6601 or (800) 448-1737
or can be downloaded at
www.stearnselectric.org. Grants will be awarded only one time
per year for any organization.
Stearns Electric Association is a
Touchstone Energy® electric cooperative providing electricity
to over 23,000 members in parts of the following counties:
Stearns, Todd, Morrison, Kandiyohi, Pope and Douglas. In
addition to the headquarters in Melrose, the Cooperative
operates a district office in St. Cloud.
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