Thursday, July 19, 2012 4:38 pm

From left to right, Cannon County Youth Dream Board member Daisy Gannon, Cannon County Director of Schools Barbara Parker and MTE Customers Care Board member Becky Vassar display a replica check from MTE Customers Care.

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation’s Customers Care donated $3,000 of its Operation Round Up funds to Cannon County Youth Dream.

“This donation will provide backpacks, shoes and school supplies for area students,” Cannon County Director of Schools Barbara Parker said. “This project could not be possible without the generous donations of the members of MTEMC.”

Cannon County Youth Dream provides support to young people of all ages and circumstances. Operation Round Up began in 2003 and has distributed more than $5.8 million into MTEMC’s communities.

The initiative “rounds up” members’ bills to the next highest dollar, with that extra change set aside for worthy causes. It is the responsibility of the Customers Care Board, which is composed of seven MTEMC members, to evaluate grant requests and send the money back to qualifying organizations.

Incoming contributions are tracked by county so the Customers Care Board can do its best to ensure money contributed by members in a certain county goes to that county. Any balances are carried over each month.

MTE Customers Care funds may not be used for political or expressly religious purposes, schools or school-related organizations.