The Bright Ideas education grant program, which awards funding to N.C. teachers for innovative classroom-based projects, is still accepting applications. North Carolina’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives, including EnergyUnited, have allocated more than $600,000 to distribute to teachers across the state during the 2012-2013 school year. The final deadline to apply is Sept. 21, and educators who apply by Aug. 17 will be entered into a drawing for a $500 Visa gift card.
“We’re proud to support educators whose hard work, dedication and enthusiasm impact the lives of so many young people,” said H. Wayne Wilkins, CEO at EnergyUnited. “They give so much to their students, and through the grants and the early-bird prize, we’re honored to give something back.”
Classroom teachers are eligible to apply for Bright Ideas grants of up to $2,000 for creative projects that might otherwise go unfunded. Educators can learn about the Bright Ideas program and apply online at www.ncbrightideas.com. Last year, EnergyUnited contributed nearly $40,000 to local classrooms through Bright Ideas grants.
All teachers who apply by the Aug. 17 early-bird deadline will be entered to win the $500 Visa gift card. The winner will be selected at random and recognized on the Bright Ideas website and Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ncbrightideas.
Since the Bright Ideas program began in 1994, the electric cooperatives have awarded more than $7.9 million in grant money to North Carolina’s teachers to sponsor more than 7,700 projects benefiting more than 1.4 million students.