As part of its Care to Share Program, Pee Dee Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) awarded a $5,000 grant to the Ansonville Historical Society on Friday, July 9.

This is the second grant of its kind that the historical society has received. This time, the $5,000 will be used to paint the final two rooms on the first floor of the historical society's building and also have new flooring put down. The previous grant was used to finish the building's roof.

"This will help us to finish the first floor of the building," said Ansonville Historical Society secretary Priscilla Randall. "The second floor, we're not tackling yet. We've been working on this since 2003. We've lost quite a few of the original members that were very enthusiastic about this through death."

Pee Dee Electric's Care to Share program is designed to help organizations like the historical society that need a little extra funding now and then for special projects, said Bruce Simmons, director of marketing and communications for Pee Dee EMC.

"We at Pee Dee Electric, our members participate in a program called Operation Roundup or the Care to Share program," he explained. "Customers will have their bill rounded up to the nearest dollar and the leftover change goes toward the program."

For example, if a customer were to participate in the program and their bill was $125.75, the bill would be rounded up to $126, and the extra 25 cents would be donated to Care to Share. The money raised is then donated in the form of $5,000 grants to 501(c)(3) organizations within Pee Dee EMC's seven-county coverage area, which includes Anson County.

"We have more than 25,000 members and a little more than 75 percent participate in the program," Simmons said. "On average, most people give $5 or $6 a year. The most a person would give is about $11."

He added that the motto of the program is "A few cents makes good sense."

Since the program started in 2006, Pee Dee EMC has awarded more than $300,000 in $5,000 grants at a time. Nonprofit organizations, including historical societies, domestic violence organizations, food ministries and any others that help children and/or the elderly, can apply for the grant money every three years, Simmons pointed out.

"Anything that's giving back to the community and enhances the quality of life, we'll consider," he added. "The nice thing about it is the way the economy is right now, a lot of people don't have the extra money to write a check to a charitable organization. This is a few cents at a time that can really make a positive impact in the community."

"The main thing we want people to know is that it's not Pee Dee Electric doing this," added Todd Moore, marketing representative. "It's our members."

For more information about Pee Dee EMC and its Care to Share program, visit pdemc.com.