Giving back to the communities they serve is at the heart of what electric cooperatives do
November-December 2026
A Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative bucket truck lights up a community holiday parade. (Courtesy SVEC)
by Laura Emery, Staff Writer
As the holiday season begins and daylight fades earlier, communities come alive with light and color. Electric candles flicker in windows, strands of lights twinkle among tree branches and festive displays illuminate rooflines — familiar sights in communities served by electric cooperatives across Virginia and Maryland.
Yet electric cooperatives have long understood that powering a community means more than keeping its lights on. Concern for Community, one of the seven cooperative principles that guide them, reflects a commitment to the well-being of the people and places they serve. That commitment is year-round, but during the holidays, it shines in ways that extend well beyond power lines. Through charitable programs, community partnerships and acts of service shaped by local needs, electric cooperatives bring cheer and goodwill.
SMALL CHANGE, BIG IMPACT
Sometimes, making a difference begins with less than a dollar. Across the region, several electric cooperatives offer programs that allow members to round up their monthly electric bills, turning a few cents at a time into meaningful support for their communities.
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, which serves a broad swath of north-central and eastern Virginia, turns members’ spare change into community support through The Power of Change. Participating members round their monthly bills to the next whole dollar, with the collective contributions reinvested in REC communities through grants to organizations addressing local needs.
On Virginia’s Eastern Shore, members of A&N Electric Cooperative can support neighbors in need through Members Helping Members, a community nonprofit program funded by voluntary donations made through members’ electric bills. Members seeking assistance apply through their local department of social services.
Farther west, in the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding communities, Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative offers a bill-rounding program through Operation Round Up. Members’ small contributions, along with support from SVEC, help local organizations continue work that directly benefits people throughout the co-op’s service territory.
In Maryland, Choptank Electric Cooperative also allows members to round up on their electric bills through its Operation Round Up program. The Choptank Electric Trust distributes those funds to local organizations serving various needs throughout Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Individually, the contributions may amount to only a few cents. Together, though, they can put food on a table, help a family in need or strengthen an organization serving its community. It’s the same spirit of collective action that gave rise to electric cooperatives nearly 90 years ago.
THE HEART BEHIND THE HOLIDAYS
During the holidays, electric cooperative employees across Virginia and Maryland find countless ways to inspire a sense of community — stocking food pantry shelves, selecting gifts for children, volunteering their time and supporting organizations already at work meeting local needs.
Across Southside and central Virginia, Southside Electric Cooperative ushers in the holiday season by supporting neighbors facing food insecurity. Beginning around Thanksgiving and continuing through mid-December, SEC employees contribute to food drives organized across the co-op’s four district offices and headquarters. “Employees bring in canned goods and nonperishables, with all of the collections delivered to several food banks across our 18-county service area,” says Mark Thomas, senior community relations coordinator for SEC.
In southeastern Virginia, Community Electric Cooperative’s Angel Tree Community Drive allows members and employees to help local families facing difficult circumstances. Donations collected through the holiday initiative are applied directly as bill credits to member accounts. Last year’s recipients included a grandmother raising young relatives and a member battling breast cancer.
Providing gifts for children in need is another holiday tradition across cooperative territories. In southeastern Virginia, Prince George Electric Cooperative participates in the Sussex County Social Services Angel Tree program and supports Holiday Helper at Fort Lee. “We’re proud to play a small part in making the season brighter for local families,” says Jill McKenzie, the co-op’s manager of human resources and communications.
In west-central Virginia, BARC Electric Cooperative partners with Unity4Kids, a charitable organization dedicated to helping local youth and their families in Alleghany, Bath and Rockbridge counties. Co-op employees participate in the charity’s annual Angel Tree program, helping turn children’s wish lists into reality. The co-op also contributes to local food programs and Highland County’s Angel Box initiative.
Among the organizations Community supports are Meals on Wheels of Suffolk and Isle of Wight and Roc Solid Foundation, a Chesapeake-based nonprofit dedicated to helping children and families fighting pediatric cancer. “Whether it’s delivering meals to seniors or supporting families facing challenges, our holiday e fforts bring warmth and care to our neighbors,” says Jessica Parr, manager of communications at the co-op.
Serving Southside Virginia and portions of North Carolina, Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative helps fill Santa’s sleigh each year by collecting toys for the Marine Corps League Lake Country Detachment #1085 Toys for Tots campaign. The co-op also supports other local organizations helping those in need throughout the holidays, including the Emporia Police Department Blue Christmas Toy Drive. SVEC employees extend the spirit of the season through an Angel Tree partnership with a local radio station and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Salvation Army. “We ‘adopted’ 12 children last year,” Preston Knight, communication manager at SVEC, says. “We also support the public schools’ preschool Christmas outreach program, which leads to the purchase of coats, shoes, and gas and grocery gift cards for families during the holidays.”
Across the Chesapeake Bay, Choptank finds plenty of ways to make the season brighter throughout Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Its holiday e fforts range from food and clothing drives and Adopt an Angel programs to support for Gifts of Hope for His Hope Ministries and Compass Regional Hospice’s annual Festival of Trees fundraiser. The co-op also sponsors Christmas programs at local schools and churches and participates in holiday parades throughout its nine-county service territory.
In western Virginia, Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative combines practical help with Christmas wishes through a holiday drive collecting nonperishable food and unwrapped gifts for children in Craig County. “In collaboration with Craig County High School, Craig County Department of Social Services, Feeding Southwest Virginia and many other local residents and contributors, we are grateful to be able to bring Christmas in the form of gifts and food,” says Maiya Ashby, director of communications at CBEC. The co-op also supports the Botetourt Chamber of Commerce Tinsel Trail, which benefits local nonprofits, and makes donations to local food pantries.
Serving areas in far Southwest Virginia and northeastern Tennessee, Powell Valley Electric Cooperative embraces the Angel Tree tradition, helping provide Christmas gifts for children in need throughout its service territory.
HELPING HANDS
Cooperative employees also devote personal time to acts of service. In Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative’s NOVEC HELPS — Hands Engaged in Local Public Service — is an employee-run nonprofit that turns holiday goodwill into hands-on service. Its members volunteer at House of Mercy Virginia and Boxes of Basics, and they also collect toys and gifts for local families in need during the holiday season. Meanwhile, NOVEC sponsors the Gobble, Gobble Run or Wobble 5K in Warrenton, benefiting Learning Starts Early and its work with preschool education and at-risk families. For employees of REC, serving their communities continues beyond the workday through Project Big Heart, an employee volunteer organization with chapters at each of the cooperative’s four offices. Employees raise funds throughout the year to support local causes. As the holidays approach, those efforts help community organizations meet the needs of seniors, children and families throughout REC’s service territory.
A holiday tradition for ANEC brings a different kind of Christmas cheer. The co-op partners with a local Rotary Club to brighten the season for adults with developmental disabilities participating in the local Community Services Board day program. Operations Supervisor Virgil Wessells dons a Santa suit for the occasion, visiting participants alongside a few elves and even the Grinch. “It’s one of the most rewarding activities we do around the holiday season,” says Jay Diem, communications and public relations supervisor at ANEC.
POWER ON PARADE
Few sights capture the connection between an electric cooperative and its community quite like a familiar bucket truck wrapped in twinkling lights and rolling down Main Street in a holiday parade. Throughout the year, the trucks carry lineworkers wherever they’re needed to restore power. At Christmastime, some of those same trucks trade storm duty for strands of lights, garland and wreaths and take their place among the floats and festivities. For members, it’s a chance to see the people behind the power as neighbors who live, work and celebrate alongside them.
That tradition stretches across cooperative territories. Northern Neck Electric Cooperative, serving Virginia’s Northern Neck and neighboring communities, participates in Christmas parades in Kilmarnock and Warsaw. Last year, NNEC earned first-place recognition for Best Commercial Entry in Warsaw’s Christmas parade. CEC joins the festivities in the Windsor Christmas Parade, where it has won multiple Best Float trophies. SEC employees and trucks are also familiar sights in local parades — typically in Blackstone, Crewe, Farmville, Altavista, Gretna and Bedford. SEC lineworkers use bucket trucks to help communities hang holiday decorations. PVEC has participated in holiday parades in communities including Harrogate and New Tazewell, while NOVEC bucket trucks, festooned with lights and Christmas decorations, can be spotted in parades every year in Remington and Warrenton.
THE GIFT OF LIGHT
Electric cooperatives also give members opportunities to help their neighbors through the gift of electricity itself. REC, MEC and SVEC each offer programs that allow members to donate money toward another member’s electric account. Depending on the program, recipients may receive a postcard or certificate, and gifts may be given anonymously. Rather than adding another package beneath the tree, these programs offer a practical gift that helps meet a basic household need.
For a neighbor facing a difficult season, a little help keeping the lights on — and the house warm — may be one of the most meaningful gifts of all.
THE COOPERATIVE DIFFERENCE
The cooperative difference is rooted in a structure that connects an electric cooperative closely to the people and places it serves. Members are not simply customers; they’re member-owners with a voice in the cooperative’s direction. That connection gives service a meaning that extends beyond just keeping the lights on.
For electric cooperatives in Virginia and Maryland, lighting a community means helping the places they serve shine in every sense of the word. MEC President and CEO Casey Logan says, “The true spirit of the holiday season is found in acts of kindness, generosity and service to others. As a cooperative guided by the principle of Concern for Community, we believe that giving back enriches not only the lives of those we help but also strengthens the bonds that unite us as a community.”
To learn how you can help your local electric cooperative give back during the holidays, contact your local co-op.