The Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op Board of Directors recently approved $5,000 in grants as part of its annual participation in Co-Bank’s matching grant program, “Sharing Success”.  PIE&G’s board selected three recipients to share in the $10,000 grant.  According to Tom Sobeck, President and CEO of PIE&G, “This partnership has allowed us to bring much needed funds into our local communities to organizations that are best suited to identify members who are desperately in need.” The three organizations receiving funds are:

Cheboygan County $5,000

Together Lifting Children (TLC) is a ministry of St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cheboygan. The mission of TLC is to insure that every Cheboygan Area Schools student has their basic physical needs met for clothing and personal hygiene to enable them to interact in comfort and with dignity so they can focus on studies and develop more positively with their peers. The budget is $100 per student.

Montmorency County $2,500

The Full Gospel Assembly of God (Atlanta) for the Family Ministry Food Pantry in Lewiston which supplies food for those in need.  Although the pantry has been open for over twenty years, the number of households served doubled in 2017.  Funds will be used to purchase shelf stable canned goods and frozen fruits and meats.

Presque Isle County $2,500

The Rogers City Lions Club (RCLC) partnered with the Lions of Michigan Foundation and other local organizations and individuals to establish a weekend food backpack program for needy children in the Rogers City Elementary School.  Working through the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to ensure consistency and balanced nutrition, the program feeds 24 children every weekend of the school year at a cost of $100 per child.

CoBank, a non-profit, cooperative bank that PIE&G uses and is a member of, matches contributions by its cooperative members to charitable organizations of their choice on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to $5,000.  CoBank requires that the charitable organization is established as a non-profit under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Service code, the donation serves a public purpose and is consistent with the program’s purpose and guidelines.  For more information about CoBank, visit the bank’s web site at www.cobank.com.