Funds assist with utility bill relief

The City of Holly Springs, through the Holly Springs Utility Department, announces it has partnered with the Tennessee Valley Authority to award $10,000 to Sacred Heart Southern Missions (Catholic Charities) to help the local community during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

“We are pleased to direct these funds to assist customers struggling with utility bills,” said Mayor Kelvin Buck. “We have a long-standing relationship with Sacred Heart Southern Missions through our `Plus One’ program and their other ministries in our community.”

The funds will be used to support and augment Sacred Heart Southern Missions’ utility bill assistance program to assist customers in the HSUD service area struggling with economic hardship during these unprecedented times. The agency’s utility assistance funds will be matched by TVA’s COVID-19 Community Care Fund, which was created to help local power companies meet immediate needs in their communities by providing matching funds for local initiatives addressing hardships created by this pandemic.

“In the spirit of public power, we are honored to partner with local power companies to address the unprecedented challenges facing those we serve,” said Jeannette Mills, TVA executive vice president and chief external relations officer. “TVA has a mission of service to make life better for the people of the Valley, and providing these funds to address immediate needs is one way we can help ease the burdens on families and communities.”

Sacred Heart Southern Missions has been a safety net for individuals and families and individuals since 1942. Its social service offices provide advocacy, adult life skills, emergency food and utility assistance for those living in poverty in DeSoto, Tate, Tunica, Marshall and Benton counties of northwest Mississippi. For additional information about Sacred Heart Southern Missions, call 662-342-3316.

Holly Springs Utility Department is a municipally owned, multi-service utility serving electric customers in Marshall, Benton and Lafayette counties in Mississippi and Fayette and Hardeman counties in Tennessee, water in Marshall and Benton counties and natural gas and sewer to the City of Holly Springs and adjacent areas in Marshall County. For additional information about TVA, see tva.gov.