Firelands Electric Cooperative's USO drive is a huge success

NEW LONDON — For the 15th straight year, Firelands Electric Cooperative partnered with local radio stations WLKR-FM and K96-FM to collect donations for USO Ohio's Step Up for Soldiers annual drive. From Veterans Day through Dec. 16, members of Firelands Electric and the community dropped off care package items at the co-op's office in New London. Donated items included razors, deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, playing cards, chewing gum, hard candy, beef jerky, trail mix, and other snacks and hygiene essentials. The cooperative community's generosity made it possible for Firelands to put together one of its largest donations to date. Spearheaded by the district's Central Office Clerk Aimee Lloyd, South Central Local Schools contributed more than 10 large boxes of items. For the past five years, Lloyd and her husband, Mike, have organized the collection of care package items from the students, staff and families of the school district. The couple became involved with the Step Up for Soldiers program after their son, Collin, received support from the USO during a flight delay while serving with the Ohio National Guard in 2018. In addition to South Central's contributions, Firelands also received many donated items from employees and the community at large. The co-op's office employees, who each donate $20 a month in exchange for wearing jeans to work on designated days, also elected to use the $245 raised during the month of November to purchase items for the donation box. "It's always an honor to partner with WLKR and K96 for this great cause," said Tracy Gibb, communications and member relations specialist at the cooperative. "Firelands was thrilled at the success of this year's drive and humbled by the size of the donations from our community." The USO supports military families through more than 250 locations nationwide. The organization serves Active Duty, Guard and Reserve members in all branches of the military. USO Ohio is a non-profit organization which relies solely on the kindness of the citizens, organizations, and corporations throughout the state and receives no government funding. Visit the USO Ohio website (https://ohio.uso.org) to learn more or to make a tax-deductible monetary donation. Firelands Electric, A Touchstone Energy Cooperative, is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative providing service to approximately 9,100 homes and businesses in rural areas of Ashland, Huron, Lorain and Richland counties.