By Ed Pierce
Since its inception,
the Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors Program has made a significant
difference in the lives of local residents and intends to keep on doing so
despite the loss of its only major fundraising event this year.
The program provides one-time
emergency heating fuel assistance to Windham residents and helps to direct
individuals in need to find appropriate resources and to promote a culture of
neighbors helping neighbors in the community. But COVID-19 restrictions have
forced the non-profit organization to forego plans for its annual gala
fundraiser held each summer at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish.
“This is an
organization that came out of nowhere,” said co-founder Senator Bill Diamond. “We’ve
been very successful through the years but are very concerned about the gala
being canceled.”
The Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors group was founded in
October 2007 by Diamond, Representative Mark Bryant and former Representative
Gary Plummer.
It is a 501c3 non-profit and is made up of Windham volunteers who
have come together to provide one-time emergency assistance to those Windham
residents who require immediate heating fuel.
Diamond said Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors has no overhead
costs whatsoever and that all of its funding goes directly to helping those in
desperate need.
“Every penny goes for heating fuel,” Diamond said. “100 percent
of what is donated to Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors is used for the
purchase of fuel for those who are in dire need.”
He said the organization focuses its resources toward those who
may have fallen through the cracks and either don’t qualify or are in a
bureaucratic process waiting for assistance from other agencies.
Last winter, heating a house with oil
cost an average of $1,700, according to the US Energy Information
Administration.
Diamond said that the
heating assistance can be a lifeline for those struggling to stay warm in
winter.
“In many cases, Windham
Neighbors Helping Neighbors help people heat their homes safely without needing
to choose between basic needs like heat, rent, medications and food,” Diamond
said.
Recipients who have
been helped receive 100 gallons of fuel and their need can be attributed to
many different circumstances. Some are elderly and living on fixed incomes,
some have lost a job and trying to reestablish their life, and others may just
have a temporary situation that requires an immediate solution.
The program is
confidential and harkens back to a time when neighbors banded together to pitch
in and help their neighbors when it was needed the most.
The Windham Neighbors
Helping Neighbors organization will line up deliveries to recipients, and
connect
Windham Neighbors Helping
Neighbors assists with one-time delivery of fuel. In addition to providing
heating oil, assistance also can be given for those with KI and propane systems
or through Bio-Bricks for homes uing wood-burning heat.
Diamond said that during the first year of operation for Windham
Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a total of 17 families were helped. By 2014, that
number grew to 101 families and has since stabilized at about 75 families each
winter.
The organization continues to serve the community because of
countless donations of labor, hours, ideas and funding through contributions of
money and goods from concerned individuals and businesses.
Not conducting the annual summer fundraiser is significant, but
Diamond believes that the foundation of Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors
lies in the generous spirit of the community.
“We have no administrative costs because those are administered
by a fund that was established with a gift of $1,000 that was made to us by the
Windham High School Class of 2010,” Diamond said. “And every donation that is
made to Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors stays right here in our community
to help those who truly need help the most.”
Diamond said he’s confident that like in years past, the
community will rise to the occasion and help the organization fund its
worthwhile mission.
“We gratefully accept all donations and are accepting
unsolicited donations,” he said. “Everything we collect will go to keeping
Windham families stay warm during the coldest months of the year.”
For more information about the Windham
Neighbors Helping neighbors Program, to volunteer to help or to make a
financial donation, call 207-892-8941 or visit https://windhamneighbors.com/ <
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