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GAFFNEY — In February, Broad River Electric Charities distributed $21,500 to local organizations as part of their Operation Round Up® program.

Organizations receiving the funds included Meals on Wheels of Cherokee County, Meals on Wheels of Union County, Mobile Meals of Spartanburg County, the SonShine Club, Union Disabilities and Special Needs, Cherokee Mental Health, CKC Volunteer Fire Department, RETREAD Initiative, Spartanburg RSVP, Habitat for Humanity, and Trinity Baptist Church Channel of Blessings.

“There are so many great organizations that serve a call to help people in challenging circumstances,” said new Broad River Electric Charities Board member Jane Rhinehart. “We hope these funds, generously donated by the cooperative membership, will be a boost to their cause and inspire more support for them throughout the community.”

Meals on Wheels and Mobile Meals provides food and services for senior shut-ins. The donations will go towards general operations for those organizations.

The SonShine Club is a day camp for adults with physical and mental disabilities. The donations will go toward supplies, fitness equipment, and activities.

Union County Disabilities provides special needs services for adults and caregivers in Union County. The donation will go toward programming supplies.

Cherokee County Mental Health Association improves behavioral health in Cherokee County through education and social activities. The donation will go toward summer camps for youth.

The CKC Volunteer Fire Department serves the communities of Cherokee Falls, Kings Creek, and Cashion Cross Roads near Blacksburg. The donation will go towards the purchase of an all-terrain emergency vehicle.

The RETREAD Initiative is an anti-domestic violence organization that provides awareness and prevention programming to local youth. The donation will go toward program materials.

Spartanburg RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) connects local citizens with organizations in need of volunteers. The donation will go toward providing gas and other reimbursements to volunteers.

Habitat for Humanity builds new homes and existing home rehabilitation to those living in substandard housing. The donation will go to chapters in Cherokee, Spartanburg and Union Counties.

Trinity Baptist Church’s Channel of Blessing is a food bank for the need in Union County. The donation will go toward the purchase of a freezer for storage of food.

Donations to the selected charities come from Broad River Electric’s Operation Round Up program. Each month, participating member’s account balances are rounded up to the nearest dollar. That extra change goes to the benevolent fund that assists organizations and goodwill missions in and around Broad River’s service area.

Funds from Operation Round Up are distributed through Broad River Electric Charities, Inc, which is governed by a 7-member board representing the cooperative and the three major counties it serves — Cherokee, Union and Spartanburg.

Since its inception in 2010, the program has allowed Broad River Electric Charities to donate over $200,000 to dozens of organizations across the Upstate. Organizations wishing to request funds can contact the cooperative to begin the application process.

Broad River Electric Charities is a philanthropic subsidiary of Broad River Electric Cooperative, which serves more than 20,000 members in Cherokee, Spartanburg, Union and Newberry counties in South Carolina and Cleveland, Polk and Rutherford counties in North Carolina.

As a non-profit, member-owned utility, Broad River Electric Cooperative strives to be a consumer advocate for the people that use the energy we distribute.

Donations Breakdown

• Meals on Wheels of Cherokee County — $2,000

• Mobile Meals of Spartanburg — $1,000

• Meals on Wheels of Union County — $1,000

• Union Disabilities and Special Needs — $2,000

• SonShine Club — $2,500

• Cherokee County Mental Health Association — $1,000

• CKC Volunteer Fired Department — $2,000

• RETREAD Initiative — $1,000

• Spartanburg RSVP — $1,000

• Habitat for Humanity — $6,000

• Channel of Blessings — $2,000