EMEPA Partners with TVA to Donate $8,250 to PACES

East Mississippi Electric Power Association is proud to announce its partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to award $8,250 to the Kemper County Economic Development Authority’s Parents and Community Equal Education Success (PACES) Program.

PACES is an all-volunteer community-based outreach program founded in 2009 to stimulate partnerships between the Kemper County School District, community and business leaders, parents, and students. The program works to increase community awareness of the value of higher education, thereby improving the likelihood that graduates of Kemper County High School will pursue higher education or career-training opportunities.

“The funds donated will help reestablish the program’s activity budget that was depleted by the recent effect of the pandemic,” says Bernard Hulin, PACES project coordinator. “These funds will ensure that the full slate of college, business, and industry visits can be attained in 2023.”

PACES activities include college campus visits, business and industry education visits, academic achievement recognition programs, Reality Fair events, and scholarship opportunities for technology summer camps. Since the program’s inception, graduation rates at Kemper County High School have risen by more than 20% and the average ACT score of seniors has steadily risen each year.

TVA’s Community Care Fund was established in 2020 to help local power companies meet immediate needs in their communities through local initiatives that address hardships created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

To learn more about the PACES project, visit the PACES Project website or call (601) 743-2754.