Our Finger Lakes Climate Fund made two more grant awards in October to homeowners needing help with high energy bills and uncomfortable living conditions. Our eleventh grant was made to the Fenner Family in Newfield who needed lots of insulation and air sealing work done along with replacing their old oil furnace with a high efficiency propane furnace. The award of $2,247 via Tompkins Community Action will help the Fenner household make improvements that will reduce carbon emissions by 112 tons.

Our twelfth grant was also our first grant to someone living outside of Tompkins County. Kim Stanford is semi-retired from Cornell and lives in Richford in Tioga County.  She had been heating with both a coal stove and an oil furnace, which had recently been red-tagged due to a cracked heat exchanger and needed replacement.  The house also needed attic and wall insulation and drafts sealed in order to address challenging problems with large ice dams.  Snug Planet will put the award of $2,287 towards Kim’s project, keeping 114 tons of carbon out of our atmosphere.

Sustainable Tompkins has awarded $23,269 to a dozen community members, and we are eager to help more families reduce their dependency on fossil fuels and enjoy a healthier, more energy-secure future.  You can help us make our next award by offsetting your upcoming holiday travel with the Climate Fund.  It’s quick, easy, and surprisingly affordable!