June 8, 2024

Whether they are planting trees, reading books to kids or sprucing up community centers, FirstEnergy employees are always finding new ways to live our core value of Stewardship. Recently, 20 of our employees – affiliated with the Veterans & Allies Employee Business Resource Group (EBRG) – participated in food drives that made a difference in the lives of hundreds of veterans in our service area.

Veterans Table Feeding Program

Mon Power employees volunteered at a Veterans Table event sponsored by Mountaineer Food Bank.

Fourteen Mon Power employees helped to load 400 food boxes into hundreds of cars at a Veterans Table event held at Veterans Memorial Park in Clarksburg, W.Va. The monthly event is sponsored by Mountaineer Food Bank and helps to ensure West Virginia veterans have access to nutritious food. There are no income guidelines to participate in the program – you just need to be a veteran.

“Despite the sacrifices they made for our country, there are many veterans who worry about putting food on the dinner table,” said MaryBeth Payne, Administrative Assistant and Acting Coordinator, Customer Care, WV Customer Contact Centers. “As co-chair of the Veterans & Allies EBRG Chapter in West Virginia and a veteran myself, I’m proud to be part of an organization that enables and encourages its employees to use Volunteer Time Off to participate in events that improve the lives of veterans and other community members.”

National Guard Armory Food Drive

Handing out food to veterans at the Hermitage National Guard Armory are (l. to r.): Penn Power employees Dale Mathie, Kristi Henlen, Jeff Doran and Alexis Cook; Chuck Cook (Alexis’ husband); Ohio Edison employee Marni Watkins; and Penn Power employee Jen Miller.

In Pennsylvania, employees from Penn Power and Ohio Edison volunteered at a food drive held at the National Guard Armory in Hermitage, Pa. The event was sponsored by Mercer County Food Bank, an organization dedicated to providing supplemental food to those who are hungry and raising awareness of hunger throughout Mercer County.

“We’re proud of the six members of our Veteran’s & Allies EBRG Ohio Chapter who teamed up to hand out food to veterans in Pennsylvania,” said Dale Mathie, Supervisor, Regional Operations. “Participating in these types of events is a great way for our members to interact and connect with each other while performing outreach activities that support the military community.”