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Company has donated more than $55 million to the state’s charitable organizations since 2000
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Duke Energy is powering Florida with more than electricity. Last year, the utility donated more than $3 million to Sunshine State non-profit organizations.
The grants are administered through the Duke Energy Foundation, which provides philanthropic support to address the needs vital to the health of its communities, with a focus on education, environment, economic and workforce development, and community impact.
The foundation annually funds more than $25 million to communities throughout Duke Energy’s six-state service area.
“Giving back to the communities we serve is an integral part of Duke Energy’s philosophy,” said Alex Glenn, Duke Energy state president – Florida. “We look forward to continuing our legacy of providing community support through charitable giving and employee volunteerism in 2016 and beyond.”
Florida grant recipients in 2015 included organizations from across the state including the American Red Cross of Tampa Bay, Gulf Specimen Aquarium Marine Lab, Citrus Youth Orchestra, Orlando Science Center, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Franklin’s Promise Coalition - Conservation Corps of the Forgotten Coast, education foundations supporting schools and dozens of others. Since 2000, the company has given more than $55 million to Florida charitable organizations.
Duke Energy’s philanthropy helped fund projects such as providing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-focused after school classes for under-served elementary and middle school students, assisting conservancy initiatives and supporting cultural arts and arts education.
“Duke Energy is a long-time partner with Orlando Science Center and their support has made many projects possible for science learning in our community,” said JoAnn Newman, president and CEO of Orlando Science Center. “For the past five years, Duke has funded STEM field trips, which have provided more than 13,000 students with engaging hands-on experiences that use STEM to solve real world problems. Duke’s investment over the years in our events, exhibits and programs is a testament to their dedication to our community and their passion for inspiring tomorrow’s tech workforce today.”
Additionally, Duke Energy Florida employees volunteered more than 45,000 hours of community service within the last five years through the “Duke Energy in Action” program.
In 2015, employees participated in dozens of volunteer events in Florida, including removing invasive species from the Oakland Nature Preserve in the Orlando area and Kings Bay in Citrus County, cleaning up Clearwater Beach prior to sea turtle nesting season, and organizing food, clothing and school supply drives for those in need, just to name a few. A wrap-up video highlighting Duke Energy Florida volunteer events is available at http://bit.ly/DEFcommunities.
For additional information on Duke Energy’s community giving programs visit www.duke-energy.com
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida owns coal-fired and natural gas generation providing about 9,000 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.7 million customers in a 13,000-square-mile service area.
With its Florida regional headquarters located in St. Petersburg, Fla., Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.3 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. Its commercial power and international energy business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.