GAHANNA, Ohio — The AEP Ohio Foundation is helping students stay engaged, fed and supported this summer through $70,000 in recent grants benefiting schools and nonprofit organizations across AEP Ohio’s service territory.
The funding is supporting a variety of programs, including summer meals, STEM education, scholarships, leadership development and enrichment opportunities for children and families.
Grants In Action: Summer Meals Supporting Summer Reading
One of those grants is helping students at Federal Hocking Local School District in Athens County, where a $9,500 AEP Ohio Foundation grant provided breakfast and lunch for approximately 70 students attending a four-week summer reading boot camp.
For more than 20 years, Federal Hocking has operated community food pantries to help meet local needs. This summer, the district expanded its support by ensuring students participating in the reading program had access to nutritious meals while building literacy skills.
"We were trying to figure out how to provide meals for students attending our summer reading boot camp," said Federal Hocking Superintendent George Wood. "When AEP Ohio approved the grant, that was the moment we knew we could make the program work. We couldn't ask students to spend four or five hours here every day without making sure they had breakfast and lunch. This grant has made a real difference for our students."
Photos from Federal Hocking's summer reading boot camp are included with this release. A video highlighting the program and its impact is available on our YouTube Channel.
Funding Distributed Throughout Ohio
Recent AEP Ohio Foundation grants include:
Southern Ohio
Central Ohio
Northern Ohio
"Summer should be a time when children continue learning, growing and exploring new opportunities," said Melissa Clark, AEP Ohio external affairs manager. "These organizations are doing important work in our communities, and we're proud to support programs that help students and families thrive."
About AEP Ohio Foundation
The AEP Ohio Foundation supports nonprofit organizations and educational institutions that improve the quality of life in communities served by AEP Ohio. Through grants and community investments, the foundation supports programs focused on housing, education and workforce development, access to essential services, resilience and recovery and thriving communities.
About AEP Ohio
AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American Electric Power. AEP Ohio provides electricity to 1.5 million customers across 61 counties. News and information about AEP Ohio can be found at AEPOhio.com.
About AEP
American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) is committed to improving our customers' lives with reliable, affordable power. We plan to invest $78 billion from 2026 through 2030 to enhance service for customers and support the growing energy needs of our communities. Our nearly 18,000 employees operate and maintain the nation's largest electric transmission system with 40,000 line miles, along with more than 252,000 miles of distribution lines to deliver energy to 5.6 million customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation's largest electricity producers with approximately 32,000 megawatts of diverse owned and contracted generating capacity. We are focused on safety and operational excellence, creating value for our stakeholders and bringing opportunity to our service territory through economic development and community engagement. Our family of companies includes AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, which provides innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. AEP is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, visit aep.com.
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