FARMINGTON — Henderson Memorial Baptist Church will give free hot dogs and lemonade on its lawn after the Fourth of July parade.
The church provides the hot dogs and welcomes donations for the Farmington Area Ecumenical Ministry’s heating fund, ECU-HEAT.
The goal this year is to raise $50,000 for emergency heating fuel to households in Franklin County, except those in Jay. Jay is served by the Good Neighbor Fund, the Rev. Susan Crane, ECU-HEAT coordinator, said.
The fund provides a 50-gallon delivery once per heating season, which runs from Nov. 1 through March 31.
“Last winter, 255 households received deliveries of fuel oil, kerosene, wood, pellets or propane,” Crane said in a release. “The total cost was nearly $49,000.”
The program for the coming winter will change to ECU-HEAT SHARE, she said. People with limited incomes will be asked to apply in advance and submit a $50 money order with the application.
The change reflects the need to keep up with rising fuel costs and the number of requests, she said. ECU-HEAT will pay the costs above the $50 for the delivery.
“By having recipients share in the cost, the hope is to be able to serve up to 300 households next winter,” Crane said.
This also allows Western Maine Community Action, which administers the fund, and local oil vendors a chance to work in advance in scheduling deliveries, she said.
Since the need is greatest in November, applications will be available from Western Maine Community Action starting in August.
Most of the funding to help families in need of oil comes from church and individual donations.
A quilt raffle and a Hollywood Stars dance also raised a significant amount of money, all of which was supplemented by an allocation from United Way of the Tri-Valley Area and a grant from the Sandy River Charitable Foundation, she said.
ECU HEAT is a ministry of the Farmington Area Ecumenical Ministry. Donations made by check are tax deductible and all contributions are acknowledged.
Donation checks, payable to ECU HEAT, can also be mailed to: ECU HEAT, P.O. Box 147, Farmington, ME 04938.
For more information, call Crane at 778-2163 or visit the FAEM website at www.faemchurches.org.
abryant@sunjournal.com
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