Posts tagged Newfield NY

Climate Fund Grant Comes Just in Time for Christmas

Dan and Kolleen Fenner

Santa came a little early in 2014 for young Kolleen Fenner and her family, thanks to donors to our Finger Lakes Climate Fund.

The Fenners’ 1920 bungalow home in Newfield suffered from lots of air leaks coming in from the crawlspace and garage door, making their 45-year old furnace labor to keep them warm.  Tompkins Community Action let Daniel Fenner know about the financial assistance they could get through NYSERDA’s programs, but the critical difference came with the Climate Fund grant of $2,247 from Sustainable Tompkins.

Their new high-efficiency propane furnace combined with steps to tighten up the house by sealing rim joists, insulating walls, wrapping pipes, and replacing the garage door will keep 112 tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.  Donations from the Sustainable Newfield Fund and other community members provided funds for the Fenner award.

This is the eleventh grant from the Climate Fund bringing our total assistance to local households to $20,974.  Thanks to the savings from these energy improvements, the Fenner household budget will have a lot more room for holiday cheer!

Everyday Climate Heroes

ST_Lawn-SignIt’s a comic book cliché.  The superhero that hides his true identity (remember mild-mannered Clark Kent?), but is ever ready to right wrongs and help those at risk.  Thankfully, most communities have always had their own quiet heroes working without fanfare to heal problems and seek justice.  At Sustainable Tompkins we are witnessing the emergence of a new breed of hero – a type we are going to need many more of as the impacts of climate disruption escalate and economic disparities widen.

In recent months, we’ve had the honor of being approached by two anonymous donors who share both a deep concern about the growing threat of climate change, and compassion for those in our community struggling with high energy bills.  Our first donor set up a Sustainable Newfield Fund and provided seed money to cover a series of grants from our Finger Lakes Climate Fund to residents of the Town of Newfield.  We made our first award from this gift in October with a $3,457 grant to Second Wind to insulate six cottages they are building for homeless men.  (Full story here.) Read the rest of this entry »