South Plains Electric Cooperative is committed to the communities it serves. Operation Round Up is an innovative program in which Cooperative members help to provide funding for people and projects in our local communities.

As a Cooperative member, you can automatically round up your monthly electric bill to the nearest dollar in which the extra cents collected will be contributed to Operation Round Up.

In 2022, the Operation Round Up Board of Directors awarded a total of $19,500 in grants to 13 local organizations.

The Parenting Cottage was a recipient of a $1,500 ORU Community Grant. The Parenting Cottage is a charity organization that provides a variety of services to the Lubbock community. Specifically, the Parenting Cottage advocates for the wellbeing of children and aims to increase awareness and prevention of child abuse.

The Parenting Cottage currently partners with the State of Texas Health Department and TxDOT to provide a car seat assistance program to members of the South Plains community. This program was established to help economically challenged families provide a safer environment for their children. Parents in the program are educated on how to correctly install and use a car seat. At the end of the program, parents are gifted a car seat provided by the State of Texas that is age, weight and height appropriate for their child.

In 2023, the Parenting Cottage provided 275 families with car seats. Additionally, nationally certified car seat technicians participated in several car seat check-up events where parents could have their car seats looked over for any cracks and areas of instability, as well as proper installation. The Community Grant awarded to the Parenting Cottage assisted with the cost of storing all the car seats and funding the program.

A properly fitted car seat reduces the chance of child injury and fatality by 75%, which is why the execution of the program is necessary for the community.

For more information about the program, please click here.