F EATURED S TORIES

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.

AEP OnSite Partners recently volunteered at the NBC4 “Stuff the Backpack” initiative to help stuff backpacks with school supplies.  The program works to ensure local K-12 students in central Ohio have the necessary school supplies to start the upcoming school year.  The American Electric Power Foundation is a sponsor of this program, which benefits 25 school districts across Franklin and Licking counties in Ohio.

With record temperatures sweeping across the country, AEP’s Public Service Company of Oklahoma is helping lead a fundraiser to support area residents who need temporary assistance paying their home heating or cooling bill for reasons outside of their control. The collaboration with The Salvation Army, City of Tulsa and other local utilities is underway now during Home Energy Aid Month across Oklahoma.

Recently, a sweet solution was found for a worker safety risk at an AEP Transmission Construction Laydown Yard in Columbus, Ohio. An employee at the laydown yard discovered a large colony of honey bees had created a hive inside a large coaxial cable spool being stored outside.

Almost 600 miles separates Roanoke, Va., from Fort Wayne, Ind., but for female employees of American Electric Power that volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, the two communities might as well have been next door.

AEP employees, including many Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG) members in Columbus, Charleston and Tulsa participated in Pride events this month, including parades, festivals, runs and other community activities.

AEP showed support for diversity and inclusion by entering a team in this year’s Dragon Boat race, a highlight of Columbus’ Asian Festival. The festival draws 100,000 visitors on Memorial Day weekend every year. The non-profit festival  promotes cultural diversity through cultural exhibits, community services such as free health screenings, and educational activities on healthy lifestyles, martial arts and other family-friendly attractions for the community.

Kentucky Power contributed $5,000, numerous volunteers and mounds of food to Power Up the Pantry, a daylong community effort to replenish depleted area food pantries.

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