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GRAND RAPIDS - Lake Country Power's Operation Round Up® participants are committed to lending a helping hand to the communities and residents of northern Minnesota. Through their assistance, the Operation Round Up Trust Board recently approved $42,756.10 in contributions to local community programs during its most recent quarterly meeting.

Operation Round Up® is a charitable program unique to electric co-ops which is designed to provide financial assistance to worthwhile activities and community projects by "rounding up" member's electric bills to the nearest dollar. The average donation of each participating Lake Country Power member is $5.52 annually.

The cooperative's Trust Board reviewed and considered 44 grant applications and distributed funds to 32 projects and programs this past quarter.

Since the program's inception in October 2004, $878,316.10 has been distributed to hundreds of community-based projects and programs.

All funds generated through Operation Round Up are set aside in a trust fund. A Trust Board of nine co-op members who are appointed by the co-op's board of directors administers the trust fund. Of the funds collected through the program, 100 percent is distributed to charitable organizations through an application and selection process. The trust board uses special guidelines and policies when choosing recipients.[[In-content Ad]]

Most Recent Recipients include: Confidence Learning Center; Voyageurs Lutheran Ministry; First Call/2-1-1; St. Louis County Sheriff's Office: Volunteer Rescue Squad; McGregor Playground Initiative Committee; Science Explosion! Grand Itasca Clinic/Hospital; Sexual Assault Program of Northern St. Louis County; Laurentian Heritage/Babbitt Historical Society; Carlton VFW; Deer River High School FCCLA; Cohasset Elementary School; Friends of Animals Humane Society; Healthy Brains for Children; Mesabi Community Orchestra; Ely Winter Festival; Project READ - ISD #318; Twelfth Step House, Inc.; Adopt a Senior Citizen Program; HOWA Family Center/Cass Kinship; Power Lunch Reading Program; KOOTASCA Community Action, Inc.; Tamarack Activities Club; Operation Christmas; Forest Lake Elementary School; Nashwauk Fire Department; Quad-City Food Shelf; Second Harvest North Central Food Bank; Happy Days Preschool, Inc.; Ely Nordic Ski Club; Floodwood Services & Training; Volunteer Services of Carlton County, Inc.; Cohasset Elementary School - ISD #318; Grand Rapids Fire Department; Family Safety Network of Cass County, Inc.

Applications are available online at www.lakecountrypower.coop. The next application deadline is February 15.

Lake Country Power, www.lakecountrypower.coop, is a Touchstone Energy® cooperative serving parts of eight counties in northeastern Minnesota. The rural electric cooperative provides services to more than 42,000 members and has offices located in Grand Rapids, Kettle River and Mountain Iron.

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