Williams Baptist University has received a donation for its Williams Works initiative from the Co-op Cares program at Craighead Electric Cooperative. Craig Martin and Samantha Jones with the co-op program recently presented a $1,500 check to WBU President Dr. Stan Norman and Eagle Farms Manager Brad Flippo.  

The Co-Op Cares campaign is an employee-sponsored community fund with the mission to support various local charitable organizations. It does not receive any funding from Craighead Electric or its members.  Employee contribution is voluntary, but Co-Op Cares currently benefits from over 90 percent employee participation.

Co-op Cares reports that the first year of the campaign was an outstanding success, with dozens of charitable groups, school programs, food banks, and others receiving a total of more than $30,000 due to the generosity of the Craighead Electric Cooperative Employees and other Co-Op Cares donors.

“WBU sincerely appreciates the employees of Craighead Electric and the Co-op Cares program. Their gift supports the vital work of Eagle Farms and the broader Williams Works initiative, and it directly benefits WBU students who are working their way to an outstanding education,” said Williams President Dr. Stan Norman.

Eagle Farms is a component of WBU’s Williams Works program, where students work 16 hours per week during the school year to cover their tuition and student service fees.  Additionally, Williams Works students can apply to work full-time in the summer months to pay for their room & board the following year. 

The farm grows fruits and vegetables on the WBU campus, produces eggs at its chicken house and will open a meat processing plant in coming months.  Produce from the farm is sold at the recently opened Williams Corner store, and other farm-related enterprises are planned for the future.  

Williams is a private, Christian university in Walnut Ridge, Ark.