Aiken Electric Cooperative's Project Power helps people in need with home repairs

Dede Biles, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·3 min read

Oct. 20—As part of Aiken Electric Cooperative's Project Power charitable initiative, a crew supervised by Ricky Key built a small deck and a wheelchair ramp in Warrenville on Wednesday.

Because of that effort, life will be easier for 70-year-old Daniel Washington, whose residence is on Mackey Court.

"This means so much to me," he said. "It will me help a whole lot with getting in and out of my home."

Lineman Michael Dunbar was happy to be part of the construction team, which also cleaned up Washington's yard.

Aiken Electric Cooperative, or AEC, is "family-oriented, so anytime we do something like this, we feel like we're doing it for one of our family members," Dunbar said. "We're just trying to help out as much as we can. It's the Christian thing to do."

Another lineman, Chad Bishop, also was enthusiastic about participating in Project Power.

"I've been pretty fortunate, and there are a lot of other people out there who are less fortunate than me," he said. "I like to try to give a hand up to people who haven't been quite so lucky."

Other AEC employees also were busy Wednesday.

Bill Rodgers was in charge of another crew of linemen that made improvements to the covered front porch of Rosa Lee Bing's home on Old Jordan Road, which is between Aiken and Exit 22 on Interstate 20.

Those upgrades included the addition of shades and a gate for the porch's lattice fencing.

The crew also made adjustments to the porch's tin roof to give it more of a slope to stop rainwater from leaking and running down the front of the home.

"Our linemen really love Project Power," said Keyatta Priester, AEC's community development manager. "A lot of them are skilled in areas where they are able to provide services such as roof repairs, the installation of flooring and the building of wheelchair ramps."

Inside The Salvation Army of Aiken's administration building on Gayle Avenue, AEC's fleet management supervisor Keith Riley was painting walls.

Sherri Walker and Melissa Goss, who also work for AEC, were reviewing Angel Tree applications nearby.

Project Power is something AEC does every year, with the assistance of the United Way of Aiken County and its Project VISION program.

The focus is on making free home repairs for the cooperative's members who are unable to fix the problems themselves and would find it difficult to pay to get the work done by someone else.

In addition, AEC employees assist agencies that are nonprofits with a variety of tasks.

AEC's CEO, Gary Stooksbury, "always stress that the cooperative provides more than power," Priester said. "Our commitment to the community is vital. We are blessed because the cooperative receives a grant and also contributes funding to match that grant. When we exceed the grant amount, we provide extra dollars to purchase materials that are needed to make the repairs."

Businesses, including Dumpster Depot, and individuals also get involved.

At Bing's home, Bubba Moyer of Charles' Roofing was offering his expertise and time.

"My son Brenden works for Aiken Electric Cooperative, and he told me they were doing this, so I decided to come and lend a hand," Moyer said. "I just wanted to help and give back to the community."

Nine counties, including Aiken, Edgefield and Barnwell, are in AEC's service area.

This year the Project Power work is being done over several days.