Springing into community action

Springing into community action

We enjoy giving back to our communities and neighbors in powerful ways, not because it looks good on paper, but because it is who we are. Aside from the warmth and liveliness of spring, it’s why we love April, one of the busiest months on our calendar.

The month of April will be busy once again in 2025, as we continue our 100-year commitment to serving eastern and central Pennsylvania. Here’s how we’ll be empowering our communities this month:

  • 🌎 Caring for our environment: April is Earth Month, and Earth Day is celebrated on April 22. We will be taking part in a number of volunteer activities during the week of Earth Day, planting trees and sprucing up local parks in Harrisburg, Williamsport, Allentown, Bethlehem, Hazleton and Scranton.
  • But before we head out for our Earth Day festivities, we’ll be in East Greenville on April 12 to clean up the Perkiomen Stream at the Kistler Bitting YMCA Park. We also are holding a family volunteer day event at the Wildlands Conservancy on April 12, where our employees will get to bring their families along to help beautify the conservancy’s nature preserves.
  • 👨‍🏫 Supporting education: We know today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders, so we support education year-round. April is a great example of what we do to aid curriculums throughout our service territory.
  • On April 14, we will be hosting 75 students from the Allentown School District for an up-close look at careers in the energy industry. Students will learn about linework, cybersecurity, customer service, environmental management and more. Later in the month, we will also be hosting students from SUN Area Technical Institute for a tour of one of our service centers and to learn more about operations at PPL Electric Utilities.
  • 💕 Giving and grants: Our grant programs help organizations throughout the 29 counties we serve inspire students and children, foster inclusion, encourage environmental stewardship and more. While our PPL Foundation team gets ready to notify this year’s recipients of Powering Equity Grants in May, we’re checking in with a pair of organizations that have already received funding from the PPL Foundation
  • Another successful semester of the Student Career Exploration Co-Op Program is wrapping up at UPMC, where local high school students receive weekly hands-on nursing experience through the Susquehanna Health Foundation. The student-nurses will talk about all they’ve been able to learn through the program as they explore nursing as a career. Supporting STEM education is also something we strongly believe in. That’s why we’re excited to visit with our friends at Community Services for Children (CSC) in Allentown and watch their young students play and learn in CSC’s Innovation Lab. Funded in part by a PPL Foundation grant, the lab offers several hands-on learning activities.

Our employees give their time and money year-round to help nonprofit organizations, support sustainable communities and empower students and educators. We look forward to every opportunity to assist our neighborhoods, making April an especially exciting time. As spring begins to take over Pennsylvania, we look forward to springing into action throughout our communities!

Thousands of kids get fun electrical safety lessons

Thousands of kids get fun electrical safety lessons

Who says electricity — and learning about it — can’t be fun?

More than 5,000 children are discovering just how fun it can be, thanks to an entertaining and educational theater program we’re offering to schools across Pennsylvania.

The show, typically performed in school auditoriums and gymnasiums by actors, is now hosted via livestream, due to the pandemic, to ensure the safety of children and actors.

Actor dressed as super hero putting on electrical safety show

The latest performance — “Captain Wattage” — was pre-recorded and is being presented to 33 schools from April 27 and May 19.

“Captain Wattage” tells a superhero-themed story about the uses of electricity and how to stay safe around it, as well as how it is created. A livestream host introduces and recaps the information, and students and teachers can submit questions and responses through a live Q&A feature.

These events are supplemented by student playbooks, posters and a full e-learning package including games, activities, e-books, and hands-on lessons for students to enjoy even after the program concludes.

Over 105,000 children have seen electrical safety theater performances since the start of our program.