Students benefit from Tri-State school supply drive

San Luis Valley REC’s wholesale energy provider, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Cooperative, conducts an annual school supply drive.

As cooperative employees, giving back is important to Tri-State; “our employees walk the walk with both the seventh cooperative principle of concern for community, and Tri-State’s company value of service. We know that many families, for different reasons, struggle to purchase the supplies their kids need, and we want to help if we can,” stated Brigid Woodward, Tri-State’s People and Culture Manager. “Each year, we do the drive in a different state in our service territory in collaboration with a Member System. Our first priority is any area affected by natural disasters (drought, flooding, fires, etc.); in the years we are lucky enough to not have a big disaster, we look for schools with great economic need.”

The supplies were donated to San Luis Valley BOCES to distribute to any of the 14 Valley school districts in need. Adeline Duarte of SLVBOCES commented, “The school supply drive was extremely helpful to San Luis Valley families. When we remove financial barriers from education, our children will succeed. Thank you Tri-State and REC for supporting our students!”

We’re always excited to partner with Tri-State on helping local organizations; they’re committed to giving back to our rural communities, and we love that! Thank you, Tri-State employees!