CINCINNATI (FOX19) – The Salvation Army announced Tuesday announced it has received more than $360,000 from Duke Energy for the HeatShare program for 2012. HeatShare funds provide financial assistance to pay for utilities to those in desperate need. In many cases, these individuals and families face shutoff of utilities and possible eviction as a result of their inability to stay current on their utility bills. The HeatShare program is available to Duke Energy customers in southwest Ohio. (For Duke Energy customers in Northern Kentucky, WinterCare funds are available, although these funds are not administered by The Salvation Army.)
The HeatShare funds come from multiple sources, including Duke Energy customers who voluntarily add a HeatShare contribution to their monthly bill. Duke Energy Ohio provided a $100,000 donation, then matched all customer and employee donations dollar-for-dollar, up to an additional $100,000. Finally, almost $61,000 in funds was provided by Duke Energy as a result of their initiative to encourage customers to switch to paperless billing. For each Duke customer that switched to paperless billing during the initial timeframe of the campaign, $3 was donated by Duke Energy to the HeatShare program.
“The HeatShare program has been helping local customers for many years, operating in Ohio since 1986,” explained Cindy Givens, Program Manager at Duke Energy. “We’re delighted to partner with our customers and The Salvation Army to provide this form of assistance to those in need. We entrust this program to the care of The Salvation Army because we have confidence in their management and distribution of the funds.”
“We’re privileged to be the channel through which these funds are managed and distributed,” stated Major Hugh Steele, Divisional Commander for The Salvation Army. “The partnership with Duke Energy has extended over many years, and we take seriously the responsibility of ensuring that those who come to us in need of assistance with their utility bills receive help.”
Duke Energy customers in Ohio in need of HeatShare assistance should contact their nearest Salvation Army Community Center to meet with a social worker. Duke Energy customers in Northern Kentucky in need of WinterCare assistance should contact their county’s Neighborhood Center or the Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission at 859-521-6607, or visit: http://www.duke-energy.com/kentucky/special-assistance/winter-care.asp.
Given the very positive response from its customers, Duke Energy is extending the Paperless Billing initiative, and will continue to donate $3 to the HeatShare fund for every additional customer that signs up for paperless billing by March 31st, 2012. “We were very delighted with customer response to the Paperless Billing initiative,” stated Ms. Givens. “It was so successful that we decided to extend the campaign to encourage even more customers to go paperless, and help a great cause at the same time.”
Those interested in Duke Energy’s Paperless Billing program are invited to visit http://www.duke-energy.com/paperless/default.asp?utm_source=webpromo&utm… for more information and to sign up.
Source: FOX19.com
