EnergyUnited Foundation closes out record year of giving

Posted on by Mike Fuhrman

Special to Iredell Free News

The EnergyUnited Foundation celebrated a record year of giving in 2023 with more than $900,000 in grants to individuals, families and nonprofit organizations.

As a cooperative, community-focused organization of “Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” the EnergyUnited Foundation understands the meaningful impact of every dollar awarded for community support. Cooperative employees live and work in the same communities that receive assistance from the EnergyUnited Foundation.

“I am excited to announce this remarkable milestone as we continue sharing the story of the EnergyUnited Foundation and the meaningful impact our members are having in cooperative communities simply by voluntarily rounding up their bills each month,” said LaQuisha Parks, vice president for Energy Services & Corporate Communications. “We’re proud to be the local connection for help and support as well as electric service.”

“The need is great and continues to grow across the communities that we serve,” added Debra Citta, program coordinator for EnergyUnited. “The foundation was established by EnergyUnited more than two decades ago to serve as a critical resource across the cooperative’s 19-county service area.”

The record-breaking year of giving culminated with grants to individuals, families and to the following nonprofit organizations:

♦ Smithville CommUNITY Coalition is revitalizing a historic African American community. The organization is partnering with Habitat for Humanity to complete critical home repairs for senior residents in Smithville before building new, affordable single family homes and townhomes. The EnergyUnited Foundation awarded $10,000 to help fund critical home repairs for senior residents in Smithville.

♦ Open Door Ministries offers multiple community support programs which will be partially funded with a $10,000 grant from the EnergyUnited Foundation. These programs include the Arthur Cassell Memorial Transitional Housing program, which serves 10-25 veterans facing who are facing homelessness. All members of this program are United States Veterans, with chronic homelessness and chronic physical or mental illness.

♦ Children’s Homes of Iredell County helps recruit and train licensed Iredell County foster families in evidenced-based care. A $10,000 grant from the EnergyUnited Foundation will be used to support the organization’s foster care recruitment and retention efforts.

The EnergyUnited Foundation is a voluntary, member-funded non-profit organization supported by EnergyUnited’s Operation Round-Up program. Nearly 85,000 EnergyUnited members choose to participate in the program by ‘rounding up’ their bills each month. The EnergyUnited Foundation offers many programs for community support to provide heating assistance, energy assistance, nonprofit grants, individual and family donations and more.

Photos
Pictured (from left) are Alyssa Ingle, member support specialist, EnergyUnited; Lisa Mayhew-Jones, project manager – residential services, Smithville CommUNITY Coalition; Debra Citta, program coordinator; EnergyUnited; and Gina Rumple, member support specialist, EnergyUnited.
Pictured (from left) are Kevin Angell, executive director, Children’s Homes of Iredell County; Ricky Caldwell, knowledge development quality specialist, EnergyUnited; and Missy Jablonski, case manager, Children’s Homes of Iredell County.
Pictured (from left) are Ryan Ross, executive director, Open Door Ministries; Zandra Adderly, member support specialist, EnergyUnited; Ivan Huffman, director of advancement, Open Door Ministries; Lore Fariss, co-chair, Open Door Ministries Board of Directors; Debra Citta, program coordinator, EnergyUnited; and Don Shaw, treasurer, Open Door Ministries Board of Directors.