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Thank you for keeping Mainers warm this winter by donating to NEWS CENTER Maine's 2021 Project Heat Telethon

NEWS CENTER Maine is partnered with United Way to raise money for The Keep Me Warm Fund for heating assistance in Maine.

MAINE, USA — The numbers are in! The total amount of donations for Project Heat 2021 comes to $466,359. This is expected to help over 2,000 households with 100 gallons of emergency heating assistance across Maine.

Thank you to the more than 4,000 donors who helped keep Maine warm, including:

  • $10,000 Sam L. Cohen Foundation Grant
  • $20,000 matching donation from Dead River Company
  • $417,779 in credit card donations
  • $18,580 in pledged checks

Donations can still be made online here

ORIGINAL STORY:

Each year, thousands of Mainers struggle to heat their homes. As the cost of basic needs, like rent and food, continue to rise, heating one’s home is increasingly difficult for the 146,500 people living in poverty in Maine. It can be a choice between paying for heat, housing, and food.

On Thursday, January 28, NEWS CENTER Maine’s 2021 Project Heat telethon will raise money to support United Way’s Keep ME Warm fund. Phone lines will be open from 5 a.m. – 8 p.m. 

During the NEWS CENTER Maine's extended noon show that day, Dead River Company will be matching up to $20,000 during the Power Hour. 

Please call and donate on Thursday, January 28. Our volunteers will be standing by to take your donation.

With oil prices down, your contributions will go much further – helping more individuals and families who are struggling amidst the ongoing pandemic and heightened economic challenges.

RELATED: Helping more Mainers keep warm in winter, the window way

RELATED: Thank You!

Keep ME Warm fund was created in 2008. It’s a partnership of the nine United Ways in Maine and ten Community Action Agencies (CAPs).

Keep Me Warm Fund is the only statewide fuel assistance fundraising effort in the state. Funds are distributed to Community Action Agencies (CAPs) and United Ways as well as 2-1-1. United Way of Greater Portland will collect and distribute funds based on a formula developed by the Community Action Programs and United Ways in Maine. Community Action Programs receive 50% of the funds, United Ways receive 25%, and 2-1-1 Maine receives the remaining 25%.

211 sees a sharp increase in total call volume in the winter months due to heating assistance requests – in mid-winter, this can be as much as a 150% increase in the total number of calls. In October, November, and December, heating assistance was the number one type of call to 211 Maine. Keep ME Warm is more crucial than ever for our neighbors that have nowhere else to turn.

In 2020, Keep Me Warm raised a total of $184,860, helping approximately 698 households each with 100 gallons of heating assistance. 

If you are in need of heating assistance, please call 2-1-1 by dialing 2-1-1.

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