Concern for Community is one of the Seven Cooperative Principles South Plains Electric Cooperative follows to bolster their efforts to give back. Operation Round Up and its board of directors created a mini-grant program that supports local teachers and helps fund classroom projects or educational field trips. This program is just one of the many ways SPEC supports the community to enhance the lives of members and their families.

Cynthia Walden is a pre-k teacher for Cotton Center ISD who received a 2022 mini-grant from Operation Round Up. To facilitate a greater understanding about the world of plants, Walden started a hands-on garden project that gives children the opportunity to plant seeds and nurture them all the way through their life cycles.

Through outside learning stations, special lessons were taught, including scientific concepts, math skills, patience, responsibility, teamwork and healthy eating habits. In this year’s garden, Walden and her students planted native Texas wildflowers, okra, pumpkins, tomatoes and much more. A specific educational lesson was learned when a bird dropped a wild cotton seed into the garden that sprouted the growth of a wild cotton plant that grew to be so large and healthy, they were able to enter it at the South Plains Fair.

Big plans have been made to continue this project into spring with hopes of adding on and making their garden into one for the entire community. The mini-grant Walden received helped fund this special project and helped foster many opportunities.