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Meeting Basic Needs

The COVID pandemic created unprecedented need for families who depend on local organizations for healthy food and safe housing while the organizations found themselves stretched beyond capacity. Approximately $4 million in emergency grants from the AEP Foundation provided some relief to struggling communities.

A $50,000 grant from the Foundation helped the United Way of Central Ohio establish the COVID-19 Community Response Fund. United Way partner agencies received a portion of the funds to provide direct services to those in need.

Similarly, Kentucky Power donated $50,000 to the Team Kentucky Fund to assist Kentuckians who sustained significant income losses during the pandemic. The funds aided families in paying rent, mortgages and utility bills.

Public Service Company of Oklahoma used AEP Foundation grants to support various organizations in the state. Among those receiving emergency COVID-19 grants were Western Oklahoma Family Care Center ($2,500) which helps citizens through no-charge medical and dental care and educational activities; St. Jude’s Helping Center in McAlester ($2,500) which provides food and clothing to those in need; and Community Action Resource and Development ($5,000) whose primary purpose is to administer anti-poverty programs in northeastern Oklahoma.

AEP Ohio employees helped the Sandusky Food Pantry, which serves 700 households and provides 14,000 healthy, well-balanced meals per month.
PSO employees donated energy-efficient LED lightbulbs to the Lawton Food Bank as part of the annual Shine a Light Event.
An AEP Foundation grant allowed the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio to open a second location in Lancaster, Ohio, to provide furniture and other household essentials to about 400 Fairfield County families impacted by poverty each year.