August 23, 2022- (Plainville, Kansas)

Western Awards Sacred Heart Grade School $5,000 Sharing Success Grant

Western Cooperative Electric’s Sharing Success Fund has awarded a $5,000 grant to the Sacred Heart Grade School in Plainville to upgrade the kitchen facilities.

In addition to preparing meals for the students, the kitchen at Sacred Heart is used for family gatherings, fundraisers, and other community events.

“We have been raising funds to make improvements to the kitchen,” Jenny Molina said. “The Sacred Heart School building has been at the heart of the community since it was built, and with these improvements, it will continue to be a great place for our students to learn and our community to gather.”

Sacred Heart has received some additional grants for the project, but due to the cost of materials and supply chain issues, the project’s total cost is now estimated at $80,000.

“We have been blessed to receive funding to address the most immediate needs of the project,” Sacred Heart Principal Scott Brown said. “The vent hood over the stove area has become hazardous to the kitchen staff and will be the first thing replaced. Unfortunately, costs continue to rise just like everything else, and we will need to raise more funds to complete the project.

“Concern for the Community is one of the Seven Cooperative Principles, and the Sharing Success grant program is a great way to give back to our communities,” Western Member Services Manager Nolan Numrich said.

Since 2013, the Sharing Success program has donated nearly $100,000 to local non-profit organizations. Western’s Sharing Success grants are made possible, in part, through CoBank, which matches funds. In 2022, Western’s board of trustees approved $20,000 to be made available through a competitive grant process. Applications for the 2023 grant cycle will be accepted starting in January. For more information, visit westerncoop.com/sharing success.