Members of Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative recently donated $13,332 to 13 local charities and community projects through the cooperative’s Operation Round Up program.

Thanks to the 80% of members who round up their electric bill and donate to this fund, PPEC has provided more than $710,900 to northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana communities since 2010.

Participating members round up their monthly electric bill to the next dollar, with the extra pennies being used to help fund charities and groups in their communities. Each quarter, the funds are dispensed to local causes that applied for funding.

The most recent donation recipients include:

• Antwerp Local Schools: $1,000 to purchase adjustable desks and chairs for the special education resource room.
• Columbus Grove Pleasant Township Joint Fire District: $1,215 to purchase a water straining system to ensure water pumped into the trucks is free of rocks and other materials.
• Family Promise of Lima: $1,500 to purchase air mattresses, pumps, sheet sets, and bed covers.
• Friends of the Grover Hill Library: $1,500 to help replace and repair their water system.
• Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana: $1,000 to purchase classroom kits.
• MAV Youth Mentoring: $1,000 to support the Buddies Program and One on One matches.
• Ottawa Head Start: $1,000 to purchase outdoor learning space activities and play station.
• Paulding Chamber of Commerce: $1,000 to support the Trails Project marketing efforts (printed materials, ads on local radio stations).
• Paulding County Opportunity Center: $225 to purchase movie tickets for the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Program.
• Power House Youth Center: $1,000 to purchase a refrigerator for the after-school program.
• Vantage Career Center: $1,300 for the Toss a Toy program for local kids.
• VFW Van Wert County: $592 to replace a freezer.
• Wayne Trace Schools (Payne and Grover Hill Elementary): $1,000 to purchase sensory items.

Photos of each recipient can be found on PPEC’s Facebook page.

Operation Round Up was started in 2010 as a way to give back to PPEC’s communities. Groups in both Ohio and Indiana can apply.

Organizations can apply for Operation Round Up assistance by contacting Paulding Putnam Electric Co-op’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Samantha Kuhn, at skuhn@ppec.coop or visiting www.ppec.coop/operation-round. If you want to participate by rounding up your monthly bill, call PPEC’s office at 800-686-2357. The average member’s donation is about $6 per year.