GAHANNA, Ohio, March 27, 2020 – The AEP Ohio Fund of the Columbus Foundation will donate $180,000 in emergency funds to help address the hardships faced by customers and communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant is part of nearly $500,000 that the AEP Foundation awarded to help Ohioans affected by the pandemic.
The dollars will support more than 40 not-for-profit agencies that provide basic human services, such as food, shelter and housing across AEP Ohio’s service territory.
“We care about our customers and understand how this pandemic is reshaping all of our daily lives,” said Raja Sundararajan, president and chief operating officer of AEP Ohio. “AEP Ohio, the AEP Foundation and our employees support local community organizations throughout the year. By making these additional funds available, we hope we can ease some of the stress and uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic is creating.”
The United Way, Salvation Army, YMCA and local food banks and pantries, in addition to other local organizations will receive funds through this donation.
The organizations include:
- Akron Canton Regional Foodbank
- American Red Cross Stark & Muskingum Lakes Chapter
- City Welfare Mission
- Community Resource Center of East Liverpool
- Food Pantry Network Licking County
- Friends & Neighbors Community Food Pantry
- Hardin County United Way
- Helping Hands of Toronto
- Highland County Family YMCA
- KNAPsack Inc.
- Louisville Community Cupboard
- Mid-Ohio Foodbank
- Pantry Plus of Seneca County, Inc.
- Paulding Elementary Parent Organization
- Pike County YMCA
- Refuge of Hope Ministries
- Robert K. Fox Family Y
- Ross County Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- Ross County YMCA
- Salvation Army
- Salvation Army Canton Corps
- Salvation Army Chillicothe
- Scioto Christian Ministry/Scioto County Homeless Shelter
- SE Ohio Foodbank
- Southern Ohio Domestic Violence Shelter
- St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry
- Stark County Hunger Task Force
- The Leipsic Community Center
- The Muskingum County Community Foundation
- The Salvation Army
- United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley
- United Way of Tuscarawas County
- United Way of Defiance County
- United Way Of Guernsey County
- United Way of Hancock County
- United Way of Morgan County
- United Way of Perry County
- United Way of Wayne & Holmes Counties
- Upper Sandusky School
- Urban Mission
- West Ohio Foodbank
In total, the AEP Foundation will donate $1.5 million to communities served by AEP in eleven states to help those in need.
# # #
About the AEP Foundation
The American Electric Power Foundation is funded by American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and its utility operating units, including AEP Ohio. The 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.
About AEP Ohio
AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American Electric Power. AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers. News and information about AEP Ohio can be found at AEPOhio.com.
American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP’s more than 18,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 219,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 32,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including about 5,200 megawatts of renewable generation. AEP’s family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide.
MEDIA CONTACT:
AEP Ohio Media Relations
1-866-641-1151 or 614-883-7999
aepohiomediarelations@aep.com