FARMINGTON — Members and friends of Henderson Memorial Baptist Church gave away more than 350 free hot dogs on the front lawn after the July 4 parade. The hot dogs and lemonade are donated by the church in order to help raise money that will surely be needed next winter to help keep neighbors warm. A record $715.17 in donations was received for the Franklin County Ecumenical Heating Fund, or ECU HEAT. One donor was glad to be able to “give a little something back” having received a 50-gallon delivery of oil last winter through the ECU HEAT program.

ECU HEAT is a ministry of the Farmington Area Ecumenical Ministry (FAEM) designed to help low-income neighbors throughout Franklin County with a single 50-gallon fuel delivery. ECU HEAT works through the recipient’s fuel dealer to authorize a delivery of whatever fuel is normally used by that household, whether oil, kerosene, propane, wood or pellets. Applications are taken at Western Maine Community Action (WMCA) in East Wilton, where the household information is recorded to prevent duplication. Each household attaches to their application a $50 money order, payable to their fuel dealer. This means recipient households pay for a share of their own fuel delivery, and ECU HEAT pays for the balance.

The ECU HEAT program has been serving Franklin County since 2005 thanks to the generosity of many donors. A record number of deliveries was made during the 2014-2015 heating season; 426 households received an ECU HEAT delivery, thus warming 1009 individuals. Applicant shares covered $21,300 of the total fuel cost of $68,769.91. ECU HEAT paid the balance of $47,469.91. Lower fuel prices made it possible to serve 73 more homes than the previous winter.

Donations are received year round at ECU HEAT, P.O. Box 147, Farmington. All contributions are tax-deductible and are promptly acknowledged. Funds are now being collected for the next heating season, which opens in November.