SYEMC raises $39,000 for nonprofits, scholarships
Dobson, NC – August 12, 2025. On the morning of June 19, 29 teams made up of business and community partners and affiliates of Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation (SYEMC) teed off in an 18-hole competition with one common goal — to give back to the community. The cooperative’s 13th Charity Golf Tournament raised $39,000, surpassing the SYEMC Community Projects Committee’s goal of $30,000.
On Aug. 7, members of SYEMC’s Community Projects Committee, led by chair Caleb Lowe, staff engineer, presented checks to Safe Kids Surry County Coalition and SYEMC’s Operation Round Up board. Each organization received $15,000. Additional funds raised will be used to support scholarships for SYEMC community members.
The day of the tournament, representatives of Safe Kids Surry and Operation Round Up’s board were on hand to help volunteer and greet the 116 golfers at Cedarbrook Country Club in State Road. The teams were divided into two flights for the captain’s choice format.
Safe Kids Surry County Coalition is a collaborative group of agency and business representatives who support efforts to provide a safe community for youth in Surry County. This ranges from coordinating Child Safety Seat Technician courses, to providing free child safety seats, bike helmets, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, medicine lockboxes and more. In addition, the coalition provides public safety awareness campaigns for hot car awareness, electrical and fire safety, pedestrian and bike safety, swim safety and so much more.
Operation Round Up is a program of Surry-Yadkin EMC which provides financial assistance for special needs in the five counties served by SYEMC. The funding primarily comes from member-owners of the cooperative who opt to round up their bill each month to the closest dollar. A board made up of member-owners meets three times a year to disperse the funds to area nonprofits, as well as community members who are victims of house fires or who are facing a catastrophic illness.
“At Surry-Yadkin EMC, one of the 7 Cooperative Principles we strive to uphold is ‘Concern for Community.’ I’m thankful our leadership supports meaningful opportunities to give back,” Lowe said. “We are truly grateful to our sponsors, whose generosity makes these donations possible year after year. Their continued commitment is a testament to their support for our co-op communities.”
In addition to the annual golf tournament, Surry-Yadkin EMC, a member-owned not-for-profit electric cooperative, hosts food drives, blood drives, sponsors families at Christmas, sponsors youth programs like NC Youth Tour, Bright Ideas Education Grants (with applications from area teachers due by Sept. 15), Sports Camp Scholarships, and more.
The Community Projects Committee is hosting Bingo on Nov. 8 at the Surry County Service Center, 915 E. Atkins St., Dobson, to raise money for the Sheriff Atkinson’s Give A Kid A Christmas fund. Doors will open at 4 p.m., with games beginning at 6 p.m.
For more information on SYEMC and its community programs, visit the cooperative’s website at syemc.com.
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Surry-Yadkin EMC is a not-for-profit Touchstone Energy cooperative 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, and more than 80 years later, SYEMC serves more than 28,000 member-owner accounts in five counties, including Surry, Yadkin, Stokes, Wilkes and Forsyth.
