Project Warm News

Thank you to our donors

 A Local Solution to a Global Problem  

   

Volunteers and organizations whose volunteers helped in January and as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service: Bardstown Road  Presbyterian Church, Bill Bowman, First Unitarian Church, Prospect/Goshen Rotary Club, Jim Roberts, Star Hope Baptist Church, St. Xavier High School, Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church, Winters, Yonker and Kannady, Mary Ann Watkins.

 

Extra Energy Management Workshops offered at LIHEAP offices

December 2011: An additional 14 energy management workshops are added to this year's schedule thanks to a collaboration between Project Warm and the Low- Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

 

Just Creations hosts Project Warm

December 2011: A percentage of sales during "Holiday Shopping Night" at Just Creations were donated to Project Warm.  the crafts at Just Creations are made by more than 45 countries in Asia, Central and South America, and Africa.

 

Blitz 2011 volunteers serve nearly 300 homes

November 2011:  Thanks to nearly 600 volunteers who installed plastic on windows in the homes of the elderly and disabled in the 21st annual Blitz.

 

UPS Volunteer Month for staff

October 2011:  Project Warm is one of the many sites on UPS's volunteer opportunities list for its staff members to choose from during the company's annual volunteer month. 

 

Weatherization Day Friday, October 28, 2011

October 2011:  Louisville Metro's eight Neighborhood Place resource centers will collaborate with Project Warm and offer energy management workshops to the community. Volunteers Sarah Lynn Cunningham, Tim McWilliams, and Alicia Dailey will lead the workshops.

 

Project Warm is participating in Mayor Greg Fisher's "Give a Day" week of community services projects, October 17-23.

October 2011: Volunteers are invited to stop by Project Warm anytime during the day or evening (please call ahead) to help assemble weatherization kits. Volunteers use these kits to install plastic in the homes of the elderly and disabled. People in the community also receive these kits at energy management workshops so that they can use them to install plastic on their own windows to help lower their energy bills.

 

Welcome new Project Warm staff member

October 2011: Percell Petty has joined Project Warm's staff as custodian and grounds keeper.

 

Project Warm workshops held to teach LIHEAP participants energy-saving tips

October 2011: During October, Tim McWilliams will teach weatherization tips to more than 600 participants in the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program.

 

Longtime Project Warm weatherization specialist will mentor new staff member

October 2011: Thanks to a grant from the Gheens Foundation, Rodney Streater has joined the Project Warm staff.  He will assist Ron Washington weatherizing homes. 

 

Project Warm begins its series of Energy Management Workshops

October 2011:  Fourteen workshops have been scheduled so far at the following locations: Highland Community Ministries, Americana Center, Neighborhood House, Shelby Elementary School, Office of Multicultural Ministries, Volunteers of America, Cabbage Patch, Jeffersontown Area Ministries, LG&E, South Jefferson Neighborhood Place, Fern Creek/Highview Neighborhood Ministries, Chenoweth Elementary School, Luhr Elementary School, and Women In Transition.

 

The Honorable Order of the Kentucky Colonels funds Project Warm's materials and supplies for 2011-2012 service year.

September 2011.  A donation from the Kentucky Colonels in the amount of $12,800 will enable Project Warm to purchase weatherization supplies for its First Line, Blitz, and Energy Management Workshop programs.

 

Kentucky Housing Corporation establishes three regional energy audit equipment library

September 2011. Project Warm signed an agreement with KHC to be a regional resource for certified BPI auditors who need equipment to perform Kentucky Home Performance energy audits.

 

Mari Griffin joins Project Warm staff

September 2011:  To prepare for Project Warm's annual Blitz,  Mari Griffin has joined the Project Warm staff.  Mari will be responsible for coordinating the volunteer registration activities.  Welcome, Mari!

 

Project Warm sponsors its 21st annual community wide "Blitz"

September 2011:  This year, nearly 150 volunteer teams will work on the first two Saturdays of November to visit the homes of the elderly and disabled and install plastic on their windows. 

 

St. Francis High School students adopt Project Warm for year-long community service project

September 2011:  Student volunteers from St. Francis High School adopted Project Warm again this year.  The students will volunteer six days during the school year for Project Warm.

 

Two Project Warm volunteers receive the 2011 "Bell Award"

September 2011: Longtime volunteers Jim Duggins and Marilyn Hrbek are being honored for their years of volunteer service to Project Warm and many other volunteer organizations.  Congratulations, Jim and Marilyn!

 

Metro Louisville Gives Project Warm $40,000 for new fiscal year

July 2011:  Louisville and Jefferson County Metro Government's Department of Housing and Family Services has awarded $40,000 to Project Warm for fiscal year 2010-2011.  This contribution will enable Project Warm to continue providing its vital services in Jefferson County.

 

Three summer youth employees join Project Warm's staff

June 2011: Through its collaboration with KentuckianaWorks and YouthBuild, Terrance Holt, LaDrinna Ladd, and Rodney Streater will work with Project Warm's staff during the summer months.

 

William E. Barth Foundation renews its support for Project Warm

Spring 2011:  Thanks to its donation in the amount of $3,000,  the Barth Foundation will help Project Warm continue providing services in the community.

 

The Gheens Foundation, Inc. approves $15,000 grant to Project Warm

March 2011: With these additional funds, project warm will hire an additional staff person to train with weatherization specialist Ron Washington.

 

Patrick O'Shea's restaurant's "Monday Fund Day" raises funds for Project Warm

February 2011: O'Shea's donates a portion of its dinner sales on Monday, February 21 to Project Warm. Thank you!

 

The Glass Slipper Society donates $3,000 to Project Warm

November 2010: A gift from The Glass Slipper Society, a charitable group of employees of Kindred Healthcare, will enable Project Warm to update its IT equipment and software.

 

Project Warm receives $5,000.00 gift from Fifth Third Foundation

Project Warm is pleased to announce that the Fifth Third Foundation presented a $5,000 gift to the weatherization organization provide weatherization services in Jefferson County.  Frank Schwartz, Project Warm’s executive director, said that the donation will allow Project Warm to focus its “First Line” weatherization services in the Newburg community.

 

Metro Louisville Gives Project Warm $60,500 for new fiscal year

(LOUISVILLE, KY)  Louisville and Jefferson County Metro Government's Department of Housing and Family Services has awarded $60,500 to Project Warm for fiscal year 2010-2011.  This contribution will enable Project Warm to continue providing its vital services in Jefferson County.

 

LG&E Donates $100,000 to Project Warm

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) To help customers better manage their energy usage in 2010, Louisville Gas and Electric Company is again donating $100,000 to Project Warm, which will allow the organization to fund a variety of weatherization programs.

Helping the Louisville community since 1982, Project Warm is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization serving low-income, elderly and disabled individuals by promoting energy affordability, safety and comfort through energy conservation and education. The services and programs provided by Project Warm are free and are offered throughout the year. They include:

 • Energy-Saving Blitz -- A program that comprises volunteers who hang interior plastic window covers in the homes of 300 elderly and disabled individuals experiencing financial hardship. Hundreds of LG&E volunteers participated in the November 2009 weatherization event, as they have since the program began.

 • First Line Weatherization -- Provides weatherization services, such as replacing and repairing window glass, caulking, and other air sealing techniques for 300 households in need.

 • Energy Management Workshops -- These workshops are designed to help approximately 500 households better manage their utility usage by teaching simple energy-saving techniques and providing free materials participants can take home and install themselves. An updated list of workshops is available by visiting www.projectwarm.org.  

 • Self-Help Pick-Up -- This program provides weatherization materials to financially-challenged, able-bodied households who are interested in lowering their utility usage and bills, and who have attended an energy management workshop in the past.

“Project Warm’s services are vital to our region and provide at-risk people in our community with valuable weatherization tools and education that make a difference in helping them manage utility bills,” said Laura Douglas, vice president of Corporate Responsibility and Community Affairs for E.ON U.S., parent company of LG&E. “Since Project Warm’s inception, we’ve been a like-minded partner in the effort to promote energy efficiency and help our customers use energy wisely.”

 

Frank Schwartz, Acting Director for Project Warm, added: “We have been partners with LG&E since our inception, and are grateful for their financial and volunteer commitment. This year’s donation will once again help us continue to provide year-round weatherization services to the area’s low and fixed-income citizens.” 

 

To learn more about Project Warm, its services and programs, visit www.projectwarm.org.

 

E.ON U.S., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a subsidiary of E.ON A.G., the world’s largest investor-owned energy services provider. E.ON U.S. is a diversified energy services company that owns and operates Louisville Gas and Electric Company, a regulated utility that serves 314,000 natural gas and 389,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties, and Kentucky Utilities Company, a regulated electric utility in Lexington, Ky., that serves 538,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia.

 

UPS Grants $25,000 to Project WarmWelcome to UPS

January 25, 2010 – Project Warm received a $25,000 grant from The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of UPS (NYSE:UPS).  The grant is being used to purchase materials for Project Warm’s weatherization programs.

Established in 1982, Project Warm provides weatherization services and energy management workshops to help lower utility bills of low-income households in Metro Louisville.  

“An average of 2,000 homes in Louisville receives education, service and materials from Project Warm each year,” said Acting Executive Director Frank Schwartz.  “In recent years, however, this number has been increasing while our funding sources are becoming tighter.   We are very grateful for the support from The UPS Foundation, which will help us to meet this increased need.”

Materials purchased using The UPS Foundation grant are being used for Project Warm’s Energy Management Workshops and its Annual Blitz. Both of these programs help make homeowners' utility bills more affordable. The funding will also go toward Project Warm’s First Line Weatherization Service.  This more comprehensive service provides both short and long term household improvements that result in up to twenty percent energy use reduction per home.

 

Established in 1951 and based in Atlanta, GA, The UPS Foundation identifies specific areas where its backing clearly impacts social issues.  In support of this strategic approach, The UPS Foundation has identified the following focus areas for giving:  non-profit effectiveness, economic and global literacy, encouraging diversity, community safety and environmental sustainability.

In 2008, The UPS foundation oversaw more than $100 million in philanthropy worldwide, including grants that benefit organizations or programs such as those provided by Project Warm and provide support for building stronger communities.

“The UPS Foundation is committed to funding programs that make a meaningful difference in our communities, so we are proud to support Project Warm's efforts to lower energy bills and energy usage in the Louisville community,” said Ken Sternad, president of The UPS Foundation.

 

Reaching Out to the Immigrant Community

For several years Project Warm has been conducting Project Warm Energy Management Workshops at the Arcadia Community Center. Since May we have been working with several AmeriCorps volunteers at Arcadia Apartments to provide Project Warm First-Line Weatherization to weatherize doorways and seal leaks around windows.

 

All of the residents at Arcadia are low-income. Most of them are refugees or immigrants and many do not speak English. We have been able to get some of our application and energy education materials translated into Spanish and the AmeriCorps volunteers have been helping their residents through the application process.

 

We will continue to work with the AmeriCorp volunteers and their residents to weatherize as many homes as possible before the cold weather returns.

  • Project Warm Crew Leader Ron, Monthly Volunteer Jim and Arcadia Residents

    Arcadia residents Rosa and Dani

    Ron, his filter and a young Arcadia Resident

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    Project Warm     1252 S. Shelby St.     Louisville, KY 40203     502 636-9276     Fax 635-9259     Info@ProjectWarm.org

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