McCook Community Foundation Press Release

News Release

Tuesday, July, 21

Local program able to bring the heat

Share the Heat may be a phrase not commonly used during the hot summer months, but to some local residents it was a blessing just a few short months ago.

Five years ago, through an idea from Nancy Frecks, who is now an Associate Extension Educator for the University of Nebraska Extension, the Share the Heat program was born in the McCook area. The Rep Valley Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska teamed up to help area residents in need of heating assistance. A soup and dessert luncheon is held every fall to raise funds for this cause; these funds are supplemented by Thrivent. Today, Share the Heat helps a large number of people every year to be able to afford heat during the winter months.

In a time of economic downturn and high prices, the Peter Kiewit Foundation out of Omaha, Nebraska, created an emergency relief grant to help organizations in Greater Nebraska meet essential human needs in 2009. The McCook Community Foundation was very fortunate to be awarded the maximum $20,000 to support local emergency relief programs and services. One of the programs chosen by MCF was Share the Heat, awarding them $6,000.

Share the Heat is a special program because it was created to help those who may not qualify for help from programs such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Barb Ostrum from CAP of Mid-NE stated, “Energy costs are above the means of those on fixed incomes, like social security recipients. Those living paycheck to paycheck that still show too much income to qualify for help have used Share the Heat to ease the high costs of their heating bills.”

Since January, 2009 until the end of April, 2009, Share the Heat has assisted 26 households. In those households lived 61 individuals, including 21 children, eleven elderly or disabled persons, and three single parents. Mary Bargen from Thrivent said, “Without the Peter Kiewit grant we wouldn’t have made it this far; the money from our annual fundraiser and the supplemental funds we received from Thrivent ran out early this year.”

Don Harpst, Chairman of the McCook Community Foundation said, “Our Fund Advisory Committee is grateful for the opportunity to direct the generous gift from the Peter Kiewit Foundation. Altogether, four McCook area entities; Share the Heat, The United Methodist Church’s Thursday Night Supper Program, The McCook Pantry and Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program benefited from the $20,000 gift. This is another example of how McCook Community Foundation can help others to give back for innumerable worthy causes."

If you would like to inquire about or contribute to Share the Heat, please contact Thrivent’s Mary Bargen at 308-345-2295.

Being an affiliated fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation enables the McCook Community Foundation to help you create a method of supporting your favorite charitable organizations through tax deductible charitable donations. Contact Lindsey Foster, Executive Director at 308-293-0045 or email foundation@mccookne.org for more information. Visit MCF’s website www.mccookcf.org to read about your community’s generosity and how it has benefited lives in Southwest Nebraska.