SHREVEPORT, La., Dec. 21, 2020 – The AEP Foundation recently awarded $250,000 in grants to the City of Shreveport to expand free Wi-Fi access in underserved neighborhoods and for community programs aimed at making the city safer.
With a $200,000 grant, the City of Shreveport will evaluate equipment and methods to expand free Wi-Fi access available at some community centers. City of Shreveport staff noticed residents gathering in community center parking lots after hours to use its free Wi-Fi connections. Delivering high-quality broadband connections in the community will help children attending school virtually or doing homework online and residents who need internet access to apply for jobs, make healthcare appointments, and other daily needs.
Meanwhile, the Shreveport Police Department will use a $50,000 grant to support targeted community programs to make the city safer. These initiatives include implementing programs successful in other American cities with the assistance of local resources.
American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) and its utility operating units, including SWEPCO, fund the American Electric Power Foundation.
“SWEPCO is proud to partner with the City of Shreveport to expand access to Wi-Fi and to support community programs that will result in a safer community,” said Michael Corbin, SWEPCO External Affairs manager. “The AEP Foundation grant to the Shreveport Police Department kicks off a department fundraising campaign to support these new community programs.”
The AEP Foundation focuses its support on education, from early childhood through higher education, and supporting those agencies that meet basic needs, such as emergency shelter, affordable housing, and the elimination of hunger.
The AEP Foundation has provided nearly $4 million in emergency funds to support basic human needs – food, shelter, housing assistance – and other COVID-19 related emergencies across the AEP system.
The AEP Foundation is based in Columbus, Ohio.
About Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO)
SWEPCO, an American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) company, serves more than 543,000 customers in northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle, and western Arkansas. SWEPCO’s headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at SWEPCO.com. Connect with us at Facebook.com/SWEPCO, Twitter.com/SWEPCOnews, Instagram.com/swepco, Youtube.com/SWEPCOtv, LinkedIn.com/company/swepco and SWEPCOConnections.com.
About American Electric Power (AEP)
American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP’s approximately 17,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 221,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.5 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 30,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including more than 5,300 megawatts of renewable energy. AEP’s family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners, and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. For more information, visit aep.com.