EnergyUnited Awards More Than $42,000 to Teachers For Their ‘Bright Ideas’

EnergyUnited has recently awarded more than $42,000 in Bright Ideas education grants to 45 teachers to fund innovative classroom projects. Students at schools in Alexander, Catawba, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Iredell, Mecklenburg and Rowan Counties, will participate in Bright Ideas projects funded by EnergyUnited this year.

“Educators who win Bright Ideas grants are going above and beyond for their students,” said Maureen Moore, Communications Manager of EnergyUnited. “We’re excited to support their innovative and creative learning initiatives through the Bright Ideas program each year.”

This year, Bright Ideas education grants from EnergyUnited will be used to fund units on: robotics, renewable energy, technology, multicultural music and much more! EnergyUnited recognized winners throughout the month by at two regional luncheons in Statesville and Lexington and arranged special surprise visits for winning teachers in its Lake Norman Region.

Since the Bright Ideas grant program began in 1994, EnergyUnited has contributed more than $800,000 to local teachers.

“We were incredibly honored to recognize each of our winners at our two regional luncheons and during our Lake Norman surprise visits,” said Maureen Moore, communications manager for EnergyUnited.

EnergyUnited is one of 26 member-owned electric cooperatives in the state offering Bright Ideas grants to local educators. During the month of November, North Carolina’s electric cooperatives will award teachers statewide close to $600,000 in Bright Ideas education grants.

Bright Ideas grant applications are collected each year from April through mid-September, and winning proposals are selected in a competitive evaluation process by a panel of judges. The application process will reopen for interested teachers in April 2020. To find out more information about the Bright Ideas grant program, visit www.energyunited.com/bright-ideas-program.

The Bright Ideas program is just one example of the electric cooperatives’ commitment to community. In addition to supporting local communities, North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives power the lives of more than 2.5 million people in 93 of the state’s 100 counties.

About Bright Ideas
For 25 years, the Bright Ideas education grant program, sponsored by North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, has helped improve education by awarding funding to K-12 teachers for innovative, classroom-based projects that would not otherwise be funded. Since it was created it 1994, the program has awarded more than $12.2 million for more than 11,700 projects, touching the lives of more than 2.3 million students statewide. Across the state, North Carolina’s electric cooperatives have awarded approximately $600,000 this month to North Carolina educators to fund about 600 projects.