Board participation

LG&E and KU employees serve on nearly 200 community boards throughout Kentucky, providing leadership to such organizations as Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, Junior Achievement and March of Dimes to name a few.

Volunteer activity

Our employees are quick to roll up their sleeves and break a sweat for a good cause. They understand volunteerism benefits entire communities and is time well spent.

The total number of employee volunteer hours is too immense to calculate. But the benefits can be readily seen as they clean and repair social service facilities, parks and recreational areas; teach a Junior Achievement class; mentor at-risk youth; or winterize the homes of low-income residents.

Two annual events demonstrate the difference we’re making. In Louisville and Lexington, more than 50, 000 disadvantaged children have started school on the right foot thanks to our employees. Each year, employees fill backpacks with school supplies and, working with local agencies, distribute them to disadvantaged schoolchildren. And through a Power of One initiative called “Day of Caring,” hundreds of employees spend personal time upgrading agencies or other nonprofits.

Employee giving campaign - Power of One

In addition to volunteering countless hours and giving their time and talent to support their local communities, employees generously contribute to our annual employee giving campaign, called the Power of One.

Since 2005, the companies' annual Power of One campaign has raised more than $19.6 million to support hundreds of nonprofit organizations, including WHAS Crusade for Children, Fund for the Arts and United Way agencies throughout Kentucky and our service territory in Virginia. Thanks in part to our employees' contributions, these organizations can confidently provide services to thousands of individuals.

Last year alone, employees contributed more than $1.9 million to the campaign — making 2016 the 10th year in a row that our employee donations have surpassed the $1 million donation milestone. With additional LG&E and KU Foundation donations, the 2016 Power of One total was $1.86 million.

And, nearly 67 percent of LG&E and KU employees participate in the companies' campaign through recurrent payroll deductions — a participation rate that is more than twice the national average for employee payroll donation in charitable giving.

Employees don’t just give to the campaign, they fully embrace it. Power of One is a spirited series of events throughout the year, amplified by celebrations, golf scrambles and other activities. It takes numerous employees to execute the campaign successfully, along with volunteers that are never in short supply.