FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas, Sept. 24, 2020 – The American Electric Power Foundation has awarded a total of $29,500 to two Northwest Arkansas nonprofits in Southwestern Electric Power Co.’s (SWEPCO) service area providing additional health and human services in response to COVID-19.
Grant dollars will aid organizations in food pantries and other services.
The American Electric Power Foundation is funded by American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and its utility operating units, including SWEPCO.
Organizations receiving funds are:
- Compassion NWA in Springdale, Ark., $14,750, to support its food pantry program, Feed The 479.
- The Salvation Army of Northwest Arkansas, $14,750, to help with an increase in food pantry requests.
“We are pleased to present these agencies with additional funding on behalf of the AEP Foundation as they provide vital services to our community during this extraordinary time,” said Jeff Milford, External Affairs Manager in Fayetteville. “We want to help ensure that the programs serving our community’s most vulnerable residents can continue and expand.”
Eric Vaughan, executive director of Feed The 479, said his organization is grateful to the AEP Foundation for the funding.
“With so many people suffering amidst the outbreak, losing their jobs or testing positive and having to quarantine, it is companies like SWEPCO and the AEP Foundation, with their generosity, that allow Feed The 479 to help so many families who are hungry and hurting,” he said. “Through the months of the pandemic, the AEP Foundation grant has helped us feed over 32,000 food insecure individuals in Northwest Arkansas. Thank you, AEP Foundation for lighting the path of hope!”
The Salvation Army of Northwest Arkansas has used its grant to support its food pantry and other services.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused increased hardships on many of our neighbors in Northwest Arkansas,” said Capt. Joshua Robinett, Northwest Arkansas area commander for The Salvation Army. “The grant from the AEP Foundation is received with immense gratitude because it helps ensure families are fed, that shelters remain available to those who need it, and for folks that are at risk of losing their home are able to keep it.”
The AEP Foundation has provided nearly $3 million in emergency funds to support basic human needs (food, shelter and housing assistance) and other COVID-19 related emergencies.
The AEP Foundation provides a permanent, ongoing resource for charitable initiatives involving higher dollar values and multi-year commitments in the communities served by AEP and initiatives outside of AEP’s 11-state service area.
The Foundation focuses on improving lives through education from early childhood through higher education in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and by meeting basic needs for emergency shelter, affordable housing and the elimination of hunger.
The AEP Foundation is based in Columbus, Ohio.