As a local business and nonprofit cooperative, Kankakee Valley REMC understands the importance of community. It is where its employees live and work, where its member-consumers thrive – that’s why its mission is about more than delivering power; it is to strengthen its community in any way it can.
Much of that is achieved through the efforts of its employees, who volunteer around the community and serve as everything from baseball coaches to school board members. The cooperative also runs several programs that contribute to the community in critical ways.
“As an electric provider, we not only provide reliable and affordable electricity to our member-consumers, but we also look for ways to help improve the quality of life in the community,” said Amanda Steeb, director of marketing and communications for KV REMC. “We do this through our support of economic development programs and projects in our rural areas.”
In 2000, KV REMC created Operation Round Up, a simple way to turn many small acts of charity into significant impacts. As part of Operation Round Up, all KV REMC member-consumers are granted the opportunity to round their bills up automatically. The difference is then pooled into a trust divided into grants for local nonprofits. Each participant member donates around $6, but no more than $12 annually. With 18,000 members, that quickly adds up.
“Over 70% of our membership rounds up each month,” Steeb said. “Our members are the reason this program is successful and allows us to help these nonprofit organizations that are the catalyst to strengthening our communities by helping those in need.”
KV REMC also puts a strong focus on supporting the community’s youth. Some of the funds raised through Operation Round Up are also used to provide local high school seniors with scholarship opportunities. The cooperative also runs programs such as Youth Tour to D.C., Page Day, Camp Kilowatt, and more – each offering students opportunities to learn about electricity, science, history, and more.
“Kankakee Valley REMC sees the youth as our future business leaders, cooperative employees, and even cooperative members,” Steeb said. “Finding ways to connect with them where we can be an avenue to helping them build leadership skills and gain knowledge about the cooperative is a win for us as a cooperative and community.”
It also offers students job shadowing opportunities and internships, with many local high schoolers spending a day shadowing linemen or engineers. Recently, a Ball State student completed an internship in their marketing department, while a Purdue University student finished one in the information technology department.
“Students have a desire to work alongside professionals and have on-the-job experience,” Steeb said. “KV REMC offering this opportunity to students is a great way to get students excited about their career path and at the same time introduce them to what the cooperative has to offer. We want to see our youth return to our rural communities after they graduate college.”
Steeb, who herself worked as an intern during college, is proud to be a part of a cooperative so committed to investing in the community.
“As someone who grew up in a rural community, left and went to college, and returned to raise a family here, it’s very fulfilling to me to see the great things that KV REMC has been able to assist our communities in achieving,” Steeb said. “When we can partner with others, we can create opportunities in the communities for the residents. What truly makes the communities great isn't what KV REMC has done….but it is the residents in those communities that have a love for the place they call home and work to find ways to make things happen. KV REMC is just there to help drive these opportunities to happen.”
Kankakee Valley REMC is committed to finding new and exciting ways to engage its community members and is soon set to launch an electric vehicle car club. The launch meeting is planned for November 16, and you can learn more about the club and all of KV REMC’s efforts at www.kvremc.com.
