[image-caption title="Central%20EMC%20employees%20volunteer%20at%20Habitat%20for%20Humanity%20near%20the%20co-op's%20Sanford%2C%20North%20Carolina%2C%20headquarters.%20(Photo%20By%3A%20Conni%20Tucker%2FCentral%20EMC)" description="%20" image="%2Fremagazine%2Farticles%2FPublishingImages%2Fjune2026-thinkingbig-lead.jpg" /]
Twice a year, Central Electric Membership Corp. CEO and General Manager Eddie Oldham changes into a green “CEMC Day of Service" T-shirt before heading out into the community with his colleagues.
They may set up book fairs or build wheelchair ramps or beds for kids.
Since 2022, the Sanford, North Carolina-based co-op's Day of Service has tackled an array of community engagement activities. Co-op employees have completed nine projects (and counting), each one of them “a fantastic mission," Oldham says.
“One of our core principles at Central Electric is concern for the community," Oldham says. “But what we're actually doing is a service to the community. We're fortunate to be blessed with the things we have in life and to be able to give back to the community."
Guided by leadership, a cross-department committee of 10 employees identifies local needs and selects service projects that will make a tangible difference.
[section separator="true"]
[section-item 6]
[row]
[column 11]
Ideas come from Operation Round Up grants or from the nonprofit partners themselves. Typically lasting two days, the projects help the co-op take “concern for community to the next level," a goal set by Oldham and the co-op's 10 directors, says Meg Moss, director of marketing and member engagement, who leads the program.
“We have the standard community programs, but by partnering with nonprofit organizations and hearing about their needs, we also take action. It's hands and feet on the ground, and it shows that the co-op has a vested interest in the community."
In addition to the service work, Central EMC documents each project, creating videos the nonprofits can use to amplify their missions and extend the impact well beyond service day.
[/column]
[/row]
[/section-item]
[section-item 6]
[row]
[column 12]
[image-caption title="Central%20EMC%E2%80%99s%20Natalie%20Kirchoff%20(left)%20and%20Meg%20Moss%20assemble%20bunk%20beds%20for%20children%20as%20volunteers%20for%20Sleep%20in%20Heavenly%20Peace.%20(Photo%20By%3A%20Conni%20Tucker%2FCentral%20EMC)" description="%20" image="%2Fremagazine%2Farticles%2FPublishingImages%2Fjune2026-thinkingbig-secondary.jpg" /]
[/column]
[/row]
[/section-item]
[/section]
The first project was a wheelchair ramp at Sanford Outreach Mission, a service provider for homeless people. Over two days, six co-op employees dug holes and cut poles and boards to build the ramp leading into one of the shelters.
[blockquote right quote="%E2%80%9CWe're%20pulling%20our%20employees%20together%2C%20but%20also%20maybe%20we%20can%20spark%20interest%20from%20other%20companies%20to%20do%20the%20same%20thing.%22" author="Jody%20Albright%2C%20vice%20president%20of%20business%20development%2C%20marketing%20and%20energy%20services%2C%20Central%20EMC" align="left" /]
Seeing the need for the ramps, volunteers tapped their own skills to build them. “We've got the manpower, and the guys know how to do this," Moss says.
After that experience, the program took off. The co-op learned volunteering is a source of built-in teamwork. “It's nice for somebody from accounting to work with a lineworker or someone in human resources," Moss says. “Employees enjoy getting out in the community and doing something that makes them feel positive."
Another popular activity was Books on Break, a free book fair the co-op sponsored last spring with the Chatham Education Foundation at Moncure School, a Title I elementary school.
Volunteers arrived at the school ready to work, says Kathy Havens, the foundation's program director. On the first day, they unpacked new books and readied the school for the fair. On the second day, they helped children select books.
“They were amazing," she says. “They were just right on from the beginning. And, I have to say, I do think they were having fun with the kids who loved having that kind of personal attention from adults. It really made a world of difference."
The co-op hopes publicity generated by the projects will heighten awareness of local needs, says Jody Albright, vice president of business development, marketing and energy services.
“We're pulling our employees together, but also maybe we can spark interest from other companies to do the same thing."
