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SREPA and Our Community
Neighbors Helping Neighbors Grant Program
Neighbors Helping Neighbors community grants help Singing River Electric merge efforts with the hard work of those within our communities.
The program awards two grants for up to $2,500 each, three times a year in January, May and September. The grants are available to non-profit organizations helping communities within Singing River Electric’s service territory in education, civic, community development and economic development. Applications are due the second Friday of the month in which grants are being accepted. Click here to view application criteria.
Since the program’s inception in 2001, grant monies have been used to purchase playground equipment, car seats, computers, books to teach adults and children to read and to support local projects locally, among other causes. The idea of “neighbors helping neighbors” emerged after Hurricane Georges when Singing River Electric witnessed first hand neighbors lending a hand to those in need.
Youth Leadership Program
Up to three high school juniors from Singing River Electric’s membership are selected each year for the Youth Leadership Workshop and Youth Tour of Washington D.C.
The students are first chosen in October by their high school based on grades and leadership qualities and then participate in an interview process in November. The selected students travel to Jackson in March with other Mississippi cooperative representatives to learn about state government and participate in leadership building exercises. In June, the students travel to our nation’s capital where they spend a week touring monuments, visiting the Capitol and seeing historical sights.
Discovery Channel "Get Charged" Kits
Singing River Electric presented 55 Discovery Channel “Get Charged” Kits to local middle schools in the service area. The kits provide students with a real-world understanding of electricity: how it works and how to use it.
This program is part of Singing River Electric’s ongoing electric safety initiative and partnership with local schools.
Economic Development Loans
In an effort to assist local economic development, Singing River Electric works with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Service when possible to obtain reduced or even zero-interest loans.
Past loan recipients include:
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC)
- Received a $810,000 zero-interest loan in 2005 to aid in Hurricane Katrina recovery and teacher retention; and
- Received a $450,000 zero-interest loan in 2001 to aid in construction of a multi-purpose training and community facility at the George County Center.
George Regional Hospital System
- Received a $750,000 zero-interest loan in 1998 to provide expanded services in the areas of outpatient surgery, obstetrics and emergency/triage care.
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