Schools across both the Cullman area’s public education systems, as well as Sacred Heart, St. Paul’s, St. Bernard and Cullman Christian, all have been awarded a combined $40,000 in assistance for the new school year thanks to member contributions made through the Cullman Electric Cooperative’s Operation Round Up program.

Operation Round Up offers each CEC member account an opportunity to round up to the nearest dollar their monthly utility payments, with the spare change cumulatively going into a board-managed fund where 100 percent of the proceeds are spent directly on schools in both Cullman and Winston Counties.

For the current award period, $40,000 in Operation Round Up funds will be distributed among the recipient schools, a list which also includes Meek and Addison in Winston County. Described by the board as a “paper grant,” all of the money will be used to fund essential paper supplies for use in classrooms, with each school’s portion determined by its student population.

“Each year, the Operation Round Up Board allocates paper for each school based on the number of students and resources at each location,” board chair Sandra Tucker explained in a release. “Schools receive additional paper for classroom updates, worksheets and other education needs. The Operation Round Up board is proud to supply this grant to help meet those needs.”

Addition Operation Round Up awards also are distributed to schools at other times during the year, with the program’s oversight board meeting five time annually to review and approve grants made at individual at teachers’ request. Those awards, the board said in its statement, “are approved based on available funding and whether the requested items will be used to benefit student education in the classroom.”

To learn more about the Cullman Electric Cooperative’s Operation Round Up program and to explore ways you can get involved, visit the program’s website at cullmanec.com/operation-round.