F EATURED S TORIES

American Electric Power Company employees showed up in full force, volunteering in communities across 11 states throughout October.  Working through AEP’s Making a Difference grant program, employees showed that small acts add up to widespread impact for critical needs in education, food and shelter, safety, health and animal welfare.

One by one, AEP Texas employees rolled up tortillas with ground beef and cheese and placed them in a large pan. The final product produced more than 150 enchiladas cooked by AEP Texas employees at the Ronald McDonald House of Corpus Christi to feed the families temporarily living in the facility.

They painted the Broken Arrow Museum, a community recycling center, playgrounds, a senior citizens center, picnic pavillions and more. They painted in Tulsa, McAlester, Ketchum and Chouteau, in Anadarko and Clinton.

Like countless Americans who have served their country in the military, Hector Lugo’s motivation to enlist was fueled by a sense of duty to the United States.

Kate Chenier, manager distribution system for the South Bend/Elkhart District, Indiana Michigan Power, rappels down the side of a South Bend, Ind., high rise to help raise money for the Youth Service Bureau of St. Joseph County. "I wasn't nervous until I got to the edge of the building, but I was safe and I've seen our talented line mechanics climb power poles, so I knew what to do."

Kentucky Power awarded the final installment of an $815,000 AEP Foundation grant to boost science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in Lawrence County Schools.

This October, AEP employees are using the power of pink to show support for those affected by breast cancer.

Cops and Barbers is an initiative to help youth in the inner city of Columbus start the school year right by providing them with a positive perspective on police and giving them fresh haircuts and new school supplies.

Every year during the first weekend in August, it’s easy to feel like bicycles outnumber cars in central Ohio. Riders in colorful cycling jerseys, many emblazoned in company logos and an eye-catching arrow, fill some of the area’s most well-traveled roads. This year, 7,484 cyclists, including AEP employees, took to the pavement during Pelotonia with one goal in mind: end cancer.

The dedication of AEP volunteers to central Ohio’s inaugural “community science festival” earned special recognition recently from COSI Columbus, central Ohio’s science center.