The generosity of Nobles Cooperative Electric members continues to have an amazing effect on local communities. Even more astounding is the fact that tiny donations, an average of only 50 cents a month, are making these huge impacts. That’s over $442,000 since the program began!
Members who participate in Operation Round Up allow the cooperative to round up their monthly electric bill to the next dollar. This small change is pooled into large amounts that a volunteer trust board oversees. Every penny goes to those in need.
Here is the latest round of donations:
Chandler Quilters ($300) Volunteers make quilts that can be used for homeless people, halfway houses, two places in Marshall, along with places in Sioux Falls and Flandreau. 125 quilts in all to these places. The request is for sheets which are used as backs for quilts.
First Lutheran ($300) To help purchase mate
To help purchase material and fillers to make and donate quilts. Areas they’ve helped: nursing homes, veteran’s homes, Westbrook, Fulda, Luverne, Heron Lake, Worthington, Windom, Sheldon and Lake Park.
Lake Sarah Quilters of Garvin ($300)
To provide prayer (scripture) quilts to anyone/everyone that could use them for comfort whether physical or mental.
Sillerud Quilters and Friends ($300)
Provide warm, comfort and a sense of God’s love to people in need. To help purchase batting and other supplies not donated. Quilts are given to the sick, recovering, in sorrow, etc.
Brewster Senior Dining ($1,000)
Hot meals are delivered to Brewster diners and the homebound. Funding needed to pay the meal transporter from Lakefield to Brewster.
Ecumen Meadows ($1,020) To assist with funding the ArtMobile, mobile art classes taught by professionals, bimonthly to residents. 30 to 50% of cost for 6 sessions.
Slayton Area Chamber of Commerce ($740)
To create a lighted Christmas display in Slayton’s Gullord Park. The area will be used for Christmas activities, as well as an opportunity to draw people to the community of Slayton.
Cultural Awareness Organization/International Festival ($750)
Requesting dollars to assist with the children’s activities portion of the festival. Activities occur Friday evening and throughout the day on Saturday.
Ellsworth Public School ($2,400)
School is modifying their weight room to section off an area for a sensory room. Money will be used for equipment used for balance and movement, calming pressure or fidgeting behavior.
Murray County Central First Grade Classrooms ($1,340)
For the cost of three sets of (one for each first grade) decodable phonics readers. The decodable readers are vital to helping students to successfully read using skills that have been previously taught and that build upon each other. This is a new shift in teaching reading.
Murray County Early Childhood Initiative ($2,300)
To help fund the Early Childhood Family Education on wheel program. This program is run by MCC school early childhood staff and travels to daycares in Murray County to meet with providers and children in the daycare setting. Staff read books and do activities with the children and also leave craft material and books for the children to keep.
Nobles County Historical Society ($580)
Money will be used for six foldable tables and a folding table dolly to transport them.
SWWC ($950)
To support regional student enrichment opportunities. The pandemic impacted the availability of and access to enrichment opportunities during the 2020-2021 school year.
United Way ($1,220)
Used to pay for the printing and mailing of books sent directly to children in their homes. This will help children in our overlapping service areas for one month (Dolly Parton Imagination Library).
Currie Fire Department ($1,500)
To help furnish bathroom/ kitchen equipment and shelving for new fire hall.
Leota First Responders ($2,000)
To provide emergency medical aid to people when requested. Looking to equip four new members with personal protection and first aid kits.
Slayton Fire Department ($3,100)
Funds to outfit our Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus masks with voice amplifiers. They have twenty masks to outfit.
Wilmont Fire & Rescue ($1,824)
To purchase three fire/rescue pagers ($608) each. The department does not have enough pagers for each member to have their own.
Operation Round Up also awards scholarships to students to help achieve their academic goals. Once these students have successfully completed one semester or quarter of higher education the scholarship recipient is awarded $650.
Scholarship Recipients:
Riley Boese - Tracy
Miranda Hoekman - Slayton
Nash Peltola - Currie
Tristin Hieronimus - Rushmore
Emmalee Bosma - Rushmore
Adrian Schwaller - Reading
Claire Reith - Fulda
Joseph Thompson - Avoca
The Trust Board has set September 1, 2022, as the deadline for the next round of funding. The board will meet again in October to review the applications. Interested organizations may call Nobles at 800-776-0517, e-mail nce@noblesce.com or visit www.noblesce.coop for an application.
Nobles Cooperative Electric has a strong commitment to the communities they serve, serving approximately 6,900 members in Murray and Nobles Counties.
