Thursday, September 9, 2010 3:52 pm

From left, Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency staff member Jenel Hill, county coordinator Larry Davis, staff members Beth Pope and Tim Baines display a replica check for $2,500 from MTE Customers Care.

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation's Customers Care has donated $2,500 of its Operation Round Up funds to Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency.

“It’s these types of funds that help us to keep going,” Upper Cumberland HRA County Coordinator Larry Davis said. “In particular, this money will go to help our nutritional program, which helps feed the elderly.”

Cannon County’s Upper Cumberland HRA is a nonprofit organization that helps individuals improve their quality of life and provide them with a more productive and independent life.

Operation Round Up began in 2003 and has distributed more than $4 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 that the Customers Care Board can do its best to ensure money contributed by members in a certain county goes to that county. Any balances will be carried over each month.

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