BRUNSWICK COUNTY — Now, paying your water bill could benefit others. The Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer H2GO is giving its customers the chance to help those in need when paying for service through its new initiative, “Operation Round Up.”
Approved in August by the Board of Commissioners, the program will allow H2GO customers to round their bills up to the next dollar; the difference will then be donated to local charities.
“Contributions will help provide food, groceries, and educational opportunities that will benefit people in need throughout H2GO’s service area and Brunswick County,” a press release from H2Go states. “The idea behind Operation Round Up is that it allows customers to give live to the adage ‘neighbors helping neighbors.’”
The two charities chosen for this cycle are Manna Ministries and The Brunswick Community College Foundation. According to the release, the utility service is not charging administrative fees, meaning all donations will go to charity. That will allow the contributions to be tax deductible, the release notes.
Tyler Wittkofsky, H2GO’s public information officer, said the H2GO board and staff “love the idea of being able to give our customers an easy way to give.”
“This community was built on a helping hand, and we look forward to being able to continue that today,” Wittkofsky said.
Manna Ministries feeds around 125 families per month in Brunswick County. All donations going towards Manna Ministries will go directly to the purchase of food to help in the fight against hunger, the release states.
The Brunswick Community College Foundation will establish a scholarship fund with the donations that will go towards assisting students in need. Last year, the Brunswick Community College Foundation gave more than $209,000 in scholarships to deserving students.
The charities will split the proceeds from Operation Round Up 50/50, the release states.
Bob Walker, H2Go executive director of H2GO, said the goal is to have at least a 40 percent customer participation rate.
“With this, we could garner an estimated $2,000 a month in donated funds, giving us $24,000 a year for these two deserving charities,” Walker said.
Customers interested in signing up for Operation Round Up can visit the Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer home office, located at 516 Village Road in Leland, and fill out a form. Forms can also be downloaded from www.h2goonline.com and emailed to twittkofsky@h2goonline.com.
