SYEMC donates over $15,000 to Give-A-Kid-A-Christmas
Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation (SYEMC) recently raised $15,750 for Sheriff Atkinson’s Give-A-Kid-A-Christmas Foundation. The recent donation, presented at the Foundation’s annual Telethon on Dec. 1, came from a profitable Bingo fundraiser hosted by SYEMC’s Community Projects Committee on Nov. 8. More than 250 people filled the Surry County Service Center in Dobson to participate in the fundraiser.
The day of the Bingo, members of SYEMC’s Community Projects Committee, a committee of employees led by committee chair Caleb Lowe, staff engineer, were joined by board members of the Give-A-Kid-A-Christmas Foundation to put on the Bingo, which included a gun raffle, dessert auction and silent auction.
This is the third fall Bingo SYEMC has held. “We continue to be amazed by how many people come out to support the fundraiser. There are so many kids in our community who wouldn’t have much of a Christmas, or any Christmas at all, if it weren’t for Give-A-Kid-A-Christmas,” said Patsy Carter, committee member and a member services representative at SYEMC. “We want to thank the businesses and individuals who sponsored the Bingo by providing game prizes, door prizes, sponsorship funds, auction items and concessions supplies, and to the individuals who came and played Bingo and bid on items.”
“Our staff and our community partners are dedicated to serving and assisting those in need in our service area. It is one of Surry-Yadkin Electric’s 7 Cooperative Principles — Concern for Community,” said Wendy Wood, committee member and manager of communications and community relations for SYEMC. “Each year we have held the Bingo, our profits have continued to grow. This means so much because we are able to provide more assistance to the members of our community who need it most. The area businesses and individuals who partner with us to make this possible amaze me at their generous support. I also want to thank the Foundation board members who volunteered to help and those who played.”
“Last year, we provided Christmas for 591 children and food boxes for 425 families here in Surry County, with the support of generous donors in our community,” said Kristie Brady, Foundation board member. “We anticipate the need to be even greater this year. The Bingo proceeds from SYEMC will go a long ways to provide toys, clothing, bedding, food and the basic human needs that the children of Surry County need.”
In addition to the Bingo, earlier in the year SYEMC was able to provide $15,000 checks to Safe Kids Surry County Coalition and SYEMC’s Operation Round Up board from the annual charity golf tournament hosted by the Community Projects Committee. Additional money raised will be used to start a scholarship program.
Surry-Yadkin EMC, a member-owned not-for-profit electric cooperative, hosts food drives, sponsors families at Christmas, sponsors youth programs like NC Youth Tour, Bright Ideas Education Grants and sports camp scholarships, and more as part of the Brighter Future initiative to improve and strengthen the daily lives of its member-owners and the communities it serves.
For more information on SYEMC and its community programs, visit the cooperative’s website at syemc.com.
About SYEMC
Surry-Yadkin EMC, a not-for-profit Touchstone Energy cooperative, was founded in 1940 by a group of local farmers with a vision to provide electricity to rural farmers and families. Its first lines were energized on Feb. 22, 1941. More than 80 years later, SYEMC serves more than 28,000 member-owner accounts in five counties, including Surry, Yadkin, Stokes, Wilkes and Forsyth. SYEMC is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
Photo: Check presentation
Surry-Yadkin EMC Community Projects Committee members, Wendy Wood, Patsy Carter, Caleb Lowe and Bryon Kennedy, surprise board members of Sheriff Atkinson’s Give-A-Kid-A-Christmas Foundation with a $15,750 check during the nonprofit’s telethon Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. The money was raised during a Bingo event held in November.
