The beauty of our communities is important to our employees, who team up with neighbors and other partners to protect the environment.
Last year, UniSource contributed nearly $35,000 to organizations that champion environmental causes and activities, from nature centers to outdoor children’s programs. From April to June each year, UniSource focuses its philanthropic efforts on environmental stewardship.
Here are four ways we supported the environment in the past few years:
Cleaning Up to Help Natural Systems Thrive
UniSource employee volunteers and their families help beautify outdoor recreation areas and other parts of their communities
Each March for the past two years, employees have headed to the Lake Havasu shoreline to pick up trash, partnering with the Rotary Club of Lake Havasu and End Plastic Soup for the Earth Day Community Cleanup. The area was chosen because of its heavy use by tourists.
Community Customer Affairs Representative Penny Lyons said she has seen T-shirts, towels, bottles and more left behind at the lake.
“I think this clean-up means a lot to the community,” said Lyons. “They like to see their local utility caring about our natural areas. And we have a lot of people who do care at work. We all live here and want it to be a gorgeous place.”
In the first year, employees from Lake Havasu, Tucson and Kingman were joined by local high school students to collect 1,680 pounds of trash, including a pool table and shipping pallets. Watch a video of a Lake Havasu beach cleanup.
In Santa Cruz County, our employees regularly volunteer to collect trash during the Santa Cruz River Clean Up hosted by Santa Cruz County Shining AZ. In 2024, UniSource employees together with other volunteers gathered 34,000 pounds of trash. Earlier this year, they cleaned up about 30 tons of trash, debris and tires.
Volunteers are also involved in other cleanups throughout the state, including United Way Days of Caring in Kingman and Granite Creek Cleanup in Prescott.
Educating Children to Care for Our Environment
Middle school students in Lake Havasu City are learning how to take care of their surroundings – from the water to the land – from Kids on the Colorado River, a four-year-old organization that hosts educational programs.
The nonprofit group was founded by longtime Lake Havasu City residents Dan Delasantos and Mike Peters with support from Dan Roddy, Director of Lake Havasu State Park. Together, the founders realized many children had little knowledge of the lake or the history of the area. Some had never been on a boat, despite living by the lake.
To educate the community, the group organizes two-day lake education programs for seventh graders, including boat excursions and science studies.
In 2024, the organization expanded to add its first Desert Program, hosting eighth graders who participated in lessons about the environment, trail safety and recreational opportunities.
The organization also hosts a free Community Day to introduce families to different clubs and organizations.
UniSource provided a $7,500 donation in 2023 and another $3,600 in 2024.
“Our programs are here to inspire the future stewards of the river and the desert,” Delasantos said.
Promoting the Arizona Trail
Through our company’s support of the Arizona Trail Association, students from Arizona schools across the state participate in the Seeds of Stewardship programs at no cost. Children from fifth grade through high school are eligible.
Activities include environmental education lessons, recreational opportunities, and hands-on stewardship projects that promote the protection of the Arizona Trail, an 800-mile path stretching from Mexico to Utah.
Students from the STAR School, which serves primarily Native American students in Flagstaff, along with others, have learned about connections to the natural environment on ventures to the Grand Canyon and the national monument, Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon.
Read a previous story about UniSource’s support of the Arizona Trail Association.
Sustaining Community Gardens
We also help community gardens thrive through fundraising and volunteering.
Volunteers from the Show Low office have helped at the White Mountain Community Garden.
In Mohave County, volunteers – from children to grandparents – joined the Dig It Dash 5K in 2023 to support the Dig It Kingman Community Gardens, which donates some of its harvest to those in need. We also made a donation to the organization to support its efforts.
This story is part of our ongoing series highlighting UniSource’s philanthropic focus areas, including environmental stewardship. UniSource works with nonprofit partners to develop invitation-based donation requests for community assistance efforts. Funds come from corporate resources, not customers’ rates. Learn more about our donations.
