As the Christmas season — a time of warmth, kindness and goodwill — approaches, the employees of the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas are preparing to share a gift far beyond the usual holiday cheer.
This year, our mission is clear: Extend hope and comfort to communities recovering from the devastation of recent hurricanes. Our lineworkers selflessly assisted with Hurricane Helene restoration, but there is still more work to be done for communities grappling with widespread damage and struggling to recover.
Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI) and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) have launched an employee giving campaign to support the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Cooperative Development Foundation’s Disaster Recovery Fund. This fund is dedicated to helping rebuild electric cooperatives and provide relief to families and businesses.
This Christmas, AECI/AECC employees have been invited to participate in this meaningful effort. By contributing through payroll deductions, employees can give directly to the cause, ensuring that their holiday spirit is felt where it’s needed most. These dollars will help restore power, rebuild infrastructure and provide crucial aid to communities in need.
And the giving doesn’t stop there. The AECI/AECC Giving Committee matches employees’ donations up to $200 per employee per year. This matching program allows the collective power of employees’ donations to stretch further.
In addition, our 17 member distribution cooperatives have been invited to join this effort, extending the cooperative principle of Concern for Community far and wide. Some cooperatives are helping in other unique ways. For example, Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative, which held a community supply drive in November in partnership with Surry-Yakin Electric Membership Cooperative (SYEMC) in Dobson, North Carolina. AVECC shipped supplies to SYEMC, which delivered them directly to rural electric members in need.
Such acts of care and compassion are the cooperative way. They are the Christian way. And there’s no better time of year to affirm our faith, nor a better way than to love our neighbors.
Together, we can light the way for a brighter future, offering recovery and healing — one generous deed at a time.
Wishing you a blessed Christmas,
Jennifer Christman Cia