Powder River Energy Foundation and Basin Electric Power Cooperative have joined forces to make a $7,500 donation to Johnson County Family YMCA to support the community’s child care program.

The YMCA, based in Buffalo, WY, serves the residents of Johnson County with recreation and fitness programs, as well as a critical full-day child daycare center. “The program is growing very quickly as we meet the demand in our community for full-day child care,” said YMCA Director Tim Miner. The program’s food costs have risen approximately 30% over the past two years, and the donation from the Foundation and Basin Electric will make up that shortfall, Miner said.

The Foundation’s $5,000 award was topped off with a $2,500 matching grant from Basin Electric dedicated to helping rural non-profit organizations.

“The PRECorp Foundation, and matching partners like Basin Electric, strive to support groups like Johnson County Family YMCA.  Their successful locally-focused programs continue to implement one of the Foundation’s general tenets which is to support the northeast Wyoming communities we serve. We appreciate the YMCA’s ability to offer families a range of affordable programs and services,” said Foundation Board President John Flocchini.

The Foundation is a self-sustaining giving organization that gets its funding from a variety of sources. Some funds are made possible in part by the PRECorp Operation RoundUp® Program, fundraisers, and large matching grants. When PRECorp consumer-members sign up for the Operation RoundUp®, PRECorp rounds up their electric bill to the next dollar.

The Foundation focuses its giving to charitable organizations in Campbell, Crook, Johnson, Sheridan, and Weston counties.

About Basin Electric: Basin Electric is a consumer-owned, regional cooperative headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. It generates and transmits electricity to 131 rural electric system members in nine states. These member systems distribute electricity to about 3 million consumers. Basin Electric gives back to the communities it serves through its member cooperatives, of which PRECorp is a member.