FARMINGTON — A warm quilt, two pillows and pillow cases created by the Tuesday Quilters of Farmington will help provide oil for Franklin County residents.

The quilt is on display at SugarWood Gallery on Broadway where raffle tickets are being sold for a Dec. 13 drawing. A reception will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. at SugarWood Gallery with the drawing at 5:45 p.m., owner Janice Maxham said.

The 60- by 80-inch quilt called “Down the Garden Path” is a new design to benefit the ECU HEAT Fund which provides 50 gallons of fuel assistance to those in need throughout Franklin County, said the Rev. Susan Crane, ECU HEAT coordinator.

The quilting group meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month in the basement of St. Joseph’s Church to learn new sewing and quilting ideas and techniques. The group raffled a quilt for the heating fund last year.

The quilt will occasionally move to a church or community gathering where tickets will be available, $1 per ticket or $5 for six. A last chance to purchase tickets will take place during the reception, Maxham said.

“The Farmington Area Ecumenical Ministry, sponsor of the ECU HEAT program, is extremely grateful to the Tuesday Quilters for their creative compassion toward our neighbors who struggle to keep warm all winter,” Crane said in a news release.

With a goal of $50,000 for the fund, fundraising becomes a year-round activity, she said.

An allocation from the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area provides a significant amount. Donations from churches and individuals and several fundraisers help boost the total.

This year, the ECU HEAT Fund is asking recipients to make applications in advance for a 50-gallon ECU HEAT delivery. Applications are available at Western Maine Community Action and can be turned in there with a $50 money order payable to the fuel vendor of choice.

The new program is called ECU HEAT Share, because recipients will pay a share of the cost;  the Franklin County Ecumenical Heating Fund will pay 75 percent, Crane said.

The program is designed to help seniors and people with disabilities, as well as families facing unemployment or under-employment or chronically low income, she said.

ECU HEAT hopes to be able to assist more than 300 households this winter with one delivery each during the heating season, which runs from Nov. 1 to March 31.

Crane believes enough money has been raised to help half of the households in November when temperatures begin to drop.

The fuel assistance program serves all of Franklin County, except Jay, which is served by the Good Neighbor Fund.

For more information, call 778-2163 or visit the website at www.faemchurches.org.

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