Providing Community Resources Through Sharing Success Grants
One of our favorite community focused programs at Lane-Scott Electric, is the CoBank Sharing Success Grant Program. This program embraces the true cooperative spirit. Like Lane-Scott Electric and other cooperatives owned by their members, CoBank is a national nonprofit cooperative owned by the rural American cooperatives they serve. Partnering with their cooperative members is an effective way to provide a helping hand to the heart of rural America. Through this program, Co-Bank matches 50% of Lane-Scott’s contribution up to four recipients a year. This year, we awarded $1,000 grants to the following recipients:
Scott County Emergency Management Service will be using their grant to help purchase AED batteries and pads that are expiring this year. In total, there are 33 AED’s in the county for public use in case of a cardiac arrest event. This year, 21 batteries and 24 sets of pads expire and must be replaced. Scott County EMS serves all of Scott County and provides mutual aid in Lane, Wichita, Logan, and Finney Counties.
The Ness County Health Department received a grant to expand their community resources for breastfeeding education and lactation supplies to community members. The health department has seen an increase in new mothers and infants in the community. The grant will help equip the department with necessary supplies to be kept locally. Educational sessions will also be provided to local businesses to help them successfully establish breastfeeding policies to support working mothers.
Eldercare Friendship Meals – Ness City Leisure Center and Dighton Joy Center: ElderCare administers the Friendship Meals program to 28 counties in southwest Kansas, including the senior centers in both Ness City and Dighton. Both locations will receive $1,000 grants to help fund meals. The program has been seeking additional funds to help offset lost federal funding from budget cuts, and an 11% increase in food costs in 2024.
The application period for 2026 will begin in January and end in April. More information about the Lane-Scott Electric Sharing Success Grant Program can be found on our website at https://www.lanescott.coop/cobank-sharing-success-grant-program.