A cold night for Walk for Warmth

$8,400 raised to help with heat bills

By Larry Peirce
Banner-Press Editor

At least it wasn't windy.

The temperature hovered around 7 degrees Thursday night as David City Middle School students got off school buses on the north and south sides of town and started their Walk for Warmth.

Teams of two students were accompanied by adults, either one of their parents or an employee of Black Hills Energy. At each house, the walkers felt the welcome blast of warm air as residents opened their doors and made a donation.

About an hour later they were headed back to the school for some cookies and hot cocoa. As of Monday, the effort had raised about $4,200, with some change jars remaining to be picked up at participating merchants. With a match from Black Hills Energy, that means $8,400 will be available to help Butler County residents who may be struggling to pay their utility bills.

Starting at 11th and O streets, students Ty Hecker and Sara Rehman walked down 11th Street with Terry Mimick of Black Hills.

"You picked a cold night to do this," said Carol Korus, after she handed them a $5 bill at her front door.

The walkers were dressed for the frigid weather, and they were prepared to ask for donations. Their adult team members handled all the money, and the students gave receipts to those who helped.

Every year, the winter months are especially tough for people who are struggling financially and cannot keep up with their heating bills.

It's tough on those who have to collect those bills too.

"It's hard on us, too," Mimick said. "We are the ones who have to go there and talk to them. That is the one part of my job that I hate."

The students and their sponsors in the middle school's Scout House program started working on the project last fall. They visited with local merchants and partnered with Black Hills to promote the fundraiser in a full-page ad in The Banner-Press on Jan. 21. The students carried a copy of the page in case residents had questions about the fundraiser.

As the students signed up and got on the bus, they said it was good to help people during tough times.

"It's pretty good. It will help people that need energy assistance," said Alejandro Diaz, a seventh grader.

Eighth grader David Smith said he couldn't imagine not having heat in a home on a winter night.

"It wouldn't be too nice," he said. "It would be like sleeping out here."

On top of that comes the stress of not being able to pay your bills, he said.

"Then it just piles up, and you have a $2,000 bill you need to pay for the heat," he said.

Principal Tom Jahde instructed the students about avoiding any houses that looked unsafe or unoccupied, and he said the students should not go inside any home. The walkers hoped to stop at 80 percent of the houses in town as they walked back toward the school.

Major Richard Rubottom of the Salvation Army said the students' help was greatly appreciated.

"This is new for me. It's great," Rubottom said. "Even more important, people are going to be helped who really need it. It is always good for the community to take part in it. Because some day, some of these people here might need it."

The need for assistance has been growing, he said.

"At Christmas time we were seeing a 130 percent increase in people coming to us for assistance. And many are people who had never come before," he said.

Black Hills spokeswoman Jan Davis said that she was glad to hear from students who said they were excited to see their ad in the paper, which showed how the local businesses supported the project.

Previous announcements spelled out how the program works. Black Hills Cares has provided more than $600,000 of assistance to Nebraska residents since its inception in 2001. The funds are available to help lower income families with energy costs, including natural gas, electricity, fuel oil, propane and wood. Funds may also be used for weatherization and home heating/cooling equipment repair.

If residents have concerns about paying energy bills, they should first contact their utilities and make payment arrangements, if possible. If it is determined that payment assistance is essential, the next contact for Butler County residents would be the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services in Seward at 402-643-6614. Residents can make application for assistance on-line at ACCESSNebraska.ne.gov. This first step will qualify the applicant and validate information that is required for eligibility to many programs, including Black Hills Cares.