POWER TO THE
BOYS AND
GIRLS CLUB
Whether it's heating or cooling, saving energy or making energy, Alabama Power strives to put the needs
of people first. And when an employee identifies a pressing need, the company listens and reacts.
C H A R I T A B L E G I V I N G
Keeping Kids Cool with Innovative Grants
7
That's exactly what happened when Susie Harris,
manager of Alabama Power's Greensboro office, heard
about the children of the Boys and Girls Club of Akron,
whose new headquarters were nearly perfect. Designed
by the Auburn University Rural Studio (and featured on
a national magazine's list of the World's Most Beautiful
Buildings), the place lacked one major thing: a heating
and cooling unit.
"It had been stolen and there was no money to replace
it," explains Harris, dismayed to find the children
playing in the sweltering summer heat with no relief.
"I knew something had to change." The answer was the
Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Program (NEEP) grant.
Offered through the Alabama Business Charitable
Trust Fund (ABC Trust), NEEP grants can provide
funding up to $10,000 for energy measures to nonprofit
agencies, especially those focused on health and human
services. The heating and cooling unit for the club fit
the criteria and was installed late last summer.
Not only did Alabama Power improve the quality of
life for the participating kids, it also provided peace
of mind to their parents. Many travel to work in nearby
Greensboro and Tuscaloosa and depend on the club as a
wholesome activity for their children. Now the Boys and
Girls Club of Akron is cool — in more ways than one.
