The wooden playground outside Isaiah 117 House was only about three years old but already showing signs of wear and tear after enduring Indiana’s harsh seasons.

Like many nonprofit service providers, the foster care agency was short on staff and volunteers, and Executive Director Jacquelyn Cunningham was resigned to do the job herself. But then a lifeline arrived in an email from WIN Energy REMC.

In the July 2025 communication, the co-op announced a new community service program, WIN for the Community, offering “real hands-on help from 5-10 employees, ready to roll up their sleeves” in landscaping, painting, cleaning and other labor-intensive jobs for nonprofit organizations in the co-op’s service territory.

“They asked if we were interested and to send in an application. I did, and they called me back. It was fantastic,” says Cunningham, who runs the Knox County chapter of Isaiah 117 House, a national nonprofit that provides a nurturing environment for children awaiting foster care placement.

Communications Specialist Madeline Sievers developed WIN for the Community as a homework assignment for Rural Electric Leaders In Training Exchange, a two-year leadership development program for Indiana co-op employees.

Since joining the 17,400-member WIN Energy REMC in 2021, Sievers has been heavily involved in coordinating her co-op’s participation in Indiana Electric Cooperative’s annual community day each October that sees hundreds of co-op employees volunteer at nonprofits in their communities.

But instead of just one big day of service, Sievers thought, why not several smaller projects throughout the year?

“I saw how big of an impact one day of service made, and our co-op has had different projects over the years” for all employees, she said. “Since we can’t close down the office each time, why couldn’t we do this more often for smaller projects that people need completed as well?”

To gauge local interest in the program, Sievers emailed past Operation Round Up grantees, including Isaiah 117 House, and the local Chamber of Commerce.

Half a dozen have responded, and she’s received several inquiries as word on the program gets out.

Each quarter, Sievers, CEO Leslie Beard and Director of Member Engagement and Energy Solutions Colin Mahoney select one nonprofit, which agrees to provide supplies. They also select employees asking to volunteer.

“We’re looking for doable projects we can complete,” Sievers says, such as the playground project. At another nonprofit, volunteers cleaned and waxed floors at a senior facility in Gibson County.

Sievers also wants the project to double as a team-building exercise among co-op employees from across the three district offices or within departments.

“It’s a great opportunity for employees to bond and make conversation that isn’t normal work conversation,” she says.

Beard signed up for a day of sanding and painting playground equipment at Isaiah 117 House, the project’s first site. The co-op made the project permanent, she says, because of “overwhelmingly positive” reception from community partners and employees.

For Cunningham, the experience scratched an item off her never-ending to-do list. Others got a chance to volunteer for a cause close to their hearts.

“It’s something I’m deeply passionate about and feel fortunate to be part of,” says Beard, a trained Care Volunteer who works directly with children awaiting foster care placement.

Volunteers are the backbone of any nonprofit agency, and Cunningham is thrilled. “It’s been like a full circle.”