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Frigid weather brings emergencies
By Pat Hill
A pickup truck may seem like a simple thing, a utilitarian vehicle good for hauling stuff from one place to another. But for Help the Needy, a nonprofit organization, a truck can be the vehicle for bringing warmth and comfort to people caught in the devastation caused by the recession.
Part of its mission of offering a hand up for people in temporary hardship, HtN provides firewood for clients who have fallen behind on utility bills.
The situation is so dire that Greg Schilling has issued a public plea for a truck. Schilling, who founded the organization in his home in 1982, shuns publicity and remains chiefly behind the scenes since his retirement from the organization a few years ago.
“Bottom line is that Help the Needy needs a truck; a lot of the volunteers don’t have one,” he said of the organization that operates entirely with volunteers, including the position held by CEO Mary Gonzales. “The donor would get a tax write-off because HtN is a 501(c)(3) organization.”
Schilling is struck by the fact that 20 years ago, he ‘d routinely cut and deliver six cords of wood to needy families; today, the volunteers expect to deliver 150 cords.
Matt Matwijec runs the firewood program for HtN in his spare time.
“If I can’t coordinate someone to drive a load of wood up to Cripple Creek, for instance, then that person who needs the wood is going to have to wait,” he said.
The wood comes from a variety of sources, some of it from beetle-kill pine trees on private land.
“We offer landowners the service of cutting the trees and taking the wood,” Matwijec said. “We depend on volunteers to help us cut and deliver the wood. If we had a truck, all we’d have to do is load up the truck and drive it to the client who needed wood.”
As time goes on, the needs increase.
“If somebody wanted to donate wood, we could come and pick it up,” said Matwijec whose day job is with the Colorado State Forest Service.
The crews, which include volunteers from the Coalition for Upper South Platte Watershed, normally work two Saturdays a month, cutting trees and moving wood.
By the end of September, HtN had helped 407 clients, a jump from 276 at the same time last year.
“With three months more to go for the year, the fire wood is going to be even more important,” Gonzales said. “More and more people are losing their jobs; they’re trying to save money on utilities by using fire wood.”
For information, call HtN at 719-687-7273.
Part of its mission of offering a hand up for people in temporary hardship, HtN provides firewood for clients who have fallen behind on utility bills.
The situation is so dire that Greg Schilling has issued a public plea for a truck. Schilling, who founded the organization in his home in 1982, shuns publicity and remains chiefly behind the scenes since his retirement from the organization a few years ago.
“Bottom line is that Help the Needy needs a truck; a lot of the volunteers don’t have one,” he said of the organization that operates entirely with volunteers, including the position held by CEO Mary Gonzales. “The donor would get a tax write-off because HtN is a 501(c)(3) organization.”
Schilling is struck by the fact that 20 years ago, he ‘d routinely cut and deliver six cords of wood to needy families; today, the volunteers expect to deliver 150 cords.
Matt Matwijec runs the firewood program for HtN in his spare time.
“If I can’t coordinate someone to drive a load of wood up to Cripple Creek, for instance, then that person who needs the wood is going to have to wait,” he said.
The wood comes from a variety of sources, some of it from beetle-kill pine trees on private land.
“We offer landowners the service of cutting the trees and taking the wood,” Matwijec said. “We depend on volunteers to help us cut and deliver the wood. If we had a truck, all we’d have to do is load up the truck and drive it to the client who needed wood.”
As time goes on, the needs increase.
“If somebody wanted to donate wood, we could come and pick it up,” said Matwijec whose day job is with the Colorado State Forest Service.
The crews, which include volunteers from the Coalition for Upper South Platte Watershed, normally work two Saturdays a month, cutting trees and moving wood.
By the end of September, HtN had helped 407 clients, a jump from 276 at the same time last year.
“With three months more to go for the year, the fire wood is going to be even more important,” Gonzales said. “More and more people are losing their jobs; they’re trying to save money on utilities by using fire wood.”
For information, call HtN at 719-687-7273.
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