ROCKINGHAM — Three more Richmond County organizations are the recipients of grants, courtesy of the Duke Energy Foundation.
Emily Tucker, district manager of government and community relations for Duke Energy, presented checks of $10,000 each to Discovery Place Kids, BackPack Pals and Our Daily Bread at DPK in downtown Rockingham.
“Hopefully this will be put to good use,” Tucker said. “I know it will, because I know all of you. These are great organizations.”
This makes $50,000 brought back to Richmond County during this grant cycle. Tucker presented checks to Hamlet Fire & Rescue and United Way of Richmond County on Dec. 8.
Michelle Parrish, UWRC executive director, said part of the money her organization received would go toward Our Daily Bread and Back Pack Pals, which are partnering agencies.
Our Daily Bread — as well as Cordova United Methodist Church and Zion Community Outreach, affiliated with Mount Zion United Church of Christ — recently was awarded a $3,000 grant from Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation.
Pastor Steve Crews, director of Helping Hands of Hamlet, which runs the BackPack Pals program, said the all-volunteer organization is currently filling 489 food bags per week that go to students in all Richmond County schools.
All proceeds go toward buying food and the upkeep of the delivery truck, Crews said.
Anyone interested in donating can send checks to: Helping Hands of Hamlet Inc., 615 Cheraw Road, Hamlet, N.C. 28345.
Discovery Place Kids is a science museum that opened in 2013, affiliated with Discovery Place in Charlotte. There is another DPK in Huntersville.
The museum underwent a renovation project in early 2024, adding new exhibits.
