Engine 1114 will soon be getting a fresh coat of paint thanks to Pee Dee Electric and their Care to Share grant program.
Taylor Demby of Pee Dee Electric presents Jimmy Stricklin, President of Hamlet Historic Depot Inc., with a check for $5,000. Back - Mechelle Preslar, Angie Averitte, Mike Wilson, Tyree Massagee
Mechelle Preslar, Chuck Cobb, Lacy Shepard, and Amanda Brown will be putting their $5,000 grant towards new Crime Stoppers signs and promoting the P3 tip system.
HAMLET — On Thursday, Taylor Demby, Manager of Marketing and Communications at Pee Dee Electric, presented a $5,000 check to both the Hamlet Historic Depot, Inc., and Richmond County Crime Stoppers, through their Care to Share grant program.
The Hamlet Historic Depot Inc. is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. According to its Facebook page, “The vision of the Hamlet Depot & Museums is to honor Hamlet through exhibits, displays, art, education and events focusing on the intertwined history of the Seaboard Railroad and the community.”
Organization treasurer, Angie Averitte lauded the efforts of Pee Dee Electric. “They are very instrumental in helping community non-profits and they have a cycle where you can apply.” Averitte continued, “we are primarily self-supporting through community donations and memberships, we support the gift shop on weekends, provide tours, and educational opportunities for tours.
Averitte says the grant money will be used to restore the luster of Engine 1114, as it has not received a fresh coat of paint in ten years.
With visiting groups from different states and even different countries, and a tremendous amount of upkeep necessary, Averitte says the Hamlet Historic Depot Inc. is always accepting philanthropic donations, whether at the visitor center, or website – hamlethistoricdepot.org
President of Richmond County Crime Stoppers, Chuck Cobb, accepted the Pee Dee grant for his organization.
“On behalf of Richmond County Crime Stoppers and on a personal note, I very much appreciate these grant monies that will be used for the signage in neighborhoods and on our school campuses, merchandise to promote the Seaboard Festival, Spring Fest, and any other fundraising events that we have,” Cobb said.
According to Cobb, Crime Stoppers liaises with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Rockingham Police Department, and Hamlet Police Department.
“Our main goal is to promote the P3 tip system – app and online outlet to report crime and to also report tips to solve crime,” Cobb said.
“P3 is the new system, which the younger generation is all about texting, and so it’s an effective means, and our tips are increasing because of it, and literally gives them the opportunity to text in what information they have that is disseminated to the respective investigator of the law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction in the case,” Cobb said.
Cobb said that if information provided via Crime Stoppers and the P3 system leads to an arrest, the tipster may be eligible for a cash reward.
According to Cobb, Crime Stoppers has been extremely effective nationwide.
“There was a national statistic that there were 95% conviction rates on crime stopper information that led to an arrest, the conviction rate was 95%, and that’s extremely high, and that’s how good and successful these programs can be, but again, it’s only as good as what the people in the community, the citizens in the county understand how to use it, and that it’s available for them to use,” Cobb said.
According to Demby at Pee Dee Electric, nonprofit organizations can apply for Care to Share grants every three years. She said that the grant funds distributed are generated by Pee Dee customers.
“Through Pee Dee Electric’s Care to Share program, members can contribute a few cents each month to support various non-profit organizations throughout the communities we serve. By simply rounding up their monthly electric bill to the nearest dollar amount, members have contributed more than $1.8 million since 2005, proving that Pee Dee Electric members have big hearts for not just their communities, but also for service.”