Yiqing Ye of Mt. Pleasant, is the recipient of the 2025 R.D. Bennett Community Service Scholarship presented by The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, the trade association for South Carolina’s independent, not-for-profit electric cooperatives.  The $5,000 college scholarship is presented to a S.C. high school student who completes a community service project that best exemplifies the cooperative principle of “concern for community.”

Ye, 17, was among a group of high school students from across the state who completed projects this summer.  A panel of judges selected his project, “Fundraising and volunteer initiative for Landmarks for Familes,” as the winner in the competition.  Ye raised more than $2,300 for Landmarks For Families, an organization founded in 1790 as the Charleston Orphan House—the first publicly funded orphanage in the U.S. The group supports more than 800 children and families each year by providing shelter for at-risk youth, education for parents, and services to reunite and strengthen families.

“The most rewarding part of being a leader was witnessing the change we created firsthand,” said Ye. Seeing how our work directly supported family programs while also showing others the power of youth-led initiatives made the experience especially meaningful.”

“Yiqing clearly put a lot of time and effort into his project,” said one of the judges. “I commend him on the continuous involvement he had with Landmark—on top of his other commitments.”

Ye completed his project after attending the electric co-ops’ annual Washington Youth Tour program—which sends rising high school seniors to Washington, D.C., for a week each summer.  Ye was one of ten local students chosen by Berkeley Electric Cooperative to attend the trip with a total of 71 students from across South Carolina.

Ye is a senior at Academic Magnet High School in North Charleston.

Ye and his brother, Yidong, talked about their experiences with this summer’s youth programs during a Berkeley Electric podcast. You can listen to that podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8SO4dU2e1A

You can see video of the surprise announcement, an interview with Ye, a video Ye created, and his final project report here: https://ecscscliving.box.com/s/lub9gum4apxjx59ce5zz1fxwsuz29o68

The R.D. Bennett Community Service Scholarship is named for Robert D. Bennett, the first general manager and executive vice president of The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina.  Bennett, who led the state association from 1950 until his retirement in 1980, strongly believed that electric cooperatives should support their local communities—providing a better quality of life for their members.  His spirit of community service is reflected in this scholarship opportunity.