PORTSMOUTH — With inflation hitting hard and high prices for fuel, utilities, housing and food, experts say the winter is going to be tough.
For the 17th year, Seacoast Media Group is raising funds from its generous and warm readers through the Gift of Warmth Heating Aid Campaign. In 2022-2023, we are once again partnering with Rockingham Community Action and Community Action Partners of Strafford County to help raise funds for their fuel assistance programs. The money raised is used by CAP programs to supplement their federal budget allocations and to help families who need assistance but may fall just outside the income levels that would qualify them for federal funds. Gift of Warmth funds allow community action programs to respond to community needs with far more flexibility than restrictive federal fuel assistance funding.
Over the past 16 years, the Gift of Warmth campaign has raised approximately $780,000 to help needy individuals and families in Rockingham and Strafford counties stay warm each winter.
Funds are raised and distributed to both CAPs by sharing the stories of individuals and families from Rockingham and Strafford counties who have been helped by the programs. People who generously share their personal stories do so to let the community know that if you are cold or in crisis, community action programs are ready to help.
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“This year will and has presented us with dramatically increased needs for housing, heating and more,” said Patte Ardizzoni, director of communications for Southern New Hampshire Services, which oversees Rockingham Community Action. “As the weather gets colder, demands for fuel increase, and as furnaces are fired, many residents find that repairs need to be made at prohibitive cost.”
Betsey Andrews Parker, chief executive of Community Action Partners of Strafford County, predicted that 2022-23 will bring the greatest need for help in many years.
“I think this year will be even worse than what we’ve seen during the pandemic,” Andrews Parker said. “We opened our application process on November 1 and have already exceeded the number of households we typically serve in a year.”
Ardizzoni spoke about Dan Girard, who has been part of his organization’s weatherization program for more than three decades.
“He works inside customers’ homes and no one is a bigger supporter of Gift of Warmth than Danny,” she said.
“Gift of Warmth funds have truly been a godsend source of funding for our clients when they have nowhere else to turn,” Girard said.
Ardizzoni said the community action partnership has always been the only door where someone can find the support needed to help with financial challenges.
“And when we’re given the opportunity to work with an individual or a family, we find other ways – other connections – whether it’s within our agency or with a community partner that will help them move forward on solid foundations,” she said.
Ardizzoni said that during last winter’s heating season, the fuel assistance program in southern New Hampshire served just over 28,351 households.
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“In Rockingham County, we processed 11,333 of these requests,” she said. “Since November 1, when the fuel program was first launched, SNHS/RCA has already registered 3,616 households and appointments are being made for three weeks. Unfortunately, due to the high costs of energy, we expect household allowances to be depleted much faster than has happened in the past.”
The help available may not be enough.
“What we’re hearing is that the fuel surcharge won’t even cover a tank of oil this season,” Andrews Parker said. “It’s not going to be enough. The rental program is ending as costs rise. It’s really a concern for people who are already frail. People are already wondering what we could get from the Gift of Warmth program. People who are 150″% above the poverty line come to us for help. Old people are afraid to spend the winter. People who had received fuel assistance in the past and no longer needed it are coming back to us this year.”
Ardizzoni said residents of the Seacoast and Tri-City areas have come to depend on Gift of Warmth because they know it’s there every year.
“The funds that come from the Gift of Warmth campaign allow us to meet demand, even if the benefits have been exhausted,” Ardizzoni said. “Seacoast Media Group has always trusted us to know who needs help and how to best provide that service. Keeping people safe, warm and supported is what the Gift of Warmth does.”
How to make a donation
Donations are gratefully accepted and will be split between the two CAP programs to make a real difference in real life.
This year, we ask that checks donated to Gift of Warmth be made payable directly to Rockingham Community Action or the Community Action Partnership of Strafford County. Please write “Gift of Warmth” on the line of the check memo to ensure the money is used for fuel assistance.
Checks can be mailed to Gift of Warmth, Seacoast Media Group, 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH, 03801. We will tally the checks, record the names of each week’s contributors, and then forward the checks to community action of both counties. programs. Each week throughout the campaign, Seacoast Media Group will post that week’s donors.
Again, please make checks payable to Rockingham Community Action Program or Strafford County Community Action Partnership and write Gift of Warmth in the memo line.
If you need help
To apply for fuel assistance, call Rockingham Community Action at (603) 431-2911. People experiencing significant hardship or a financial crisis can also call and they will be directed to the appropriate person. For more information, visit snhs.org.
For the Strafford County Community Action Partnership, call (603) 435-2500 or visit straffordcap.org.
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