Realizing that the 300 Nebraskan communities they serve thrive when their residents’ lives improve, Black Hills Energy recently gave away 110 appliances through nonprofit organizations during its first “Improving Life Day.”
“It was really a grass-roots effort. We went to our techs in the field and asked, ‘How can your community best use this help?’ The techs were also on hand when we made the deliveries. It was just incredibly humbling to be part of this effort,” Black Hills Energy spokesperson Melissa Garcia told American Gas.
The selected nonprofit organizations all assist the public in different ways; they included veterans organizations, fire departments and housing authorities. The donated value of the appliances, including refrigerators, washers, dryers and gas cook tops, was approximately $88,000.
The program was an exciting and unifying effort for the utility as it integrated its newly purchased Source Gas territories and employees into the Black Hills Energy family, Garcia said. — Carolyn Kimmel