TRI-COUNTY AWARDS $5,000 GRANT TO THE SALVATION ARMY

MANSFIELD, Pa. (Aug. 18, 2020) — Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative and CoBank have teamed up to award $5,000 to The Salvation Army to provide assistance to struggling families and individuals throughout Bradford County.

A $2,500 donation from Tri-County, matched by a $2,500 donation from CoBank, one the cooperative’s lenders, will support efforts to provide food, rental and energy assistance to economically challenged families within The Salvation Army’s Northeastern Pennsylvania region.

“We really appreciate Tri-County’s support,” said Michael Cipilewski, regional manager for The Salvation Army Service Extension Department. “The generosity of donors like Tri-County allows us to give back to those in the community who are in need.”

Cipilewski said the novel coronavirus pandemic has caused a surge in unemployment throughout the region, which has drastically increased the number of people seeking assistance from the Salvation Army to help pay for housing, food and energy expenses.

“We are pleased to support The Salvation Army’s efforts to meet the increased needs within our community caused by the coronavirus,” said Craig Eccher, Tri-County president & CEO. “Electric cooperatives are committed to supporting our local communities. With so many people out of work and experiencing financial hardships at this time, we wanted to help lessen the burden of our friends and neighbors who have been negatively impacted by economic challenges.”

Tri-County funded its portion of The Salvation Army donation through its community services grant program, which utilizes unclaimed capital credits refunds to support non-profit organizations that provide services aimed at improving the lives of those within the cooperatives’ service territory.

The cooperative secured a matching grant through CoBank’s Sharing Success matching grant program. Based in Greenwood Village, Colo., CoBank is one of the largest private providers of credit to the rural economy, delivering loans, leases and other financial services to agribusiness and rural infrastructure in all 50 states.

A member-owned, non-profit utility with headquarters in Mansfield, Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative provides electricity to nearly 20,000 meters in Bradford, Tioga, Potter, Lycoming, McKean, Cameron and Clinton counties.