Information About The HeatSmart Campaign

Our Goal in 2005

It is quickly becoming apparent that this year will find many families struggling

to heat their homes. With no one sure just how high energy costs will rise, now is the time for the

community to come together and find ways to make this challenge more manageable.

The HeatSmart Campaign is dedicated to helping the public be efficient and effective in

managing the rising costs of home heating. To that end, we are in the process of organizing a      

group of partners, from community leaders to conscientious corporations to

charitable organizations, all with a common interest in confronting this problem.

We hope to finish assembling this group in time to become a significant factor

in the struggle to keep households warm this winter.

And we hope you’ll be a part of it.                                                                         

More than Money

Of course, financial clout will be a key part of alleviating the pressure many families will feel when it comes

time to paying their heating bills. But an approach that relies on money alone will come up short this winter,

because of the unprecedented scope of the problem. That’s why we instead aim to provide educational and

material assistance that helps people stretch their heating dollars further, thus assisting families while reducing

the overall pressure being placed on the nation’s energy supply.

By sharing easy but underutilized tips for conserving energy, and by providing the tools to

make this easier for families, we will make every dollar go that much farther. The only limit

on the impact is how many households we can reach out to.

What You Can Do

Even if you cannot support The HeatSmart Campaign financially, there are many ways you can help the cause.

Just being willing to help share information about saving energy can have an impact, as can taking the time to

write to politicians or the editorial page of your newspaper to call for greater support for energy conservation initiatives.

Organizations that can offer manpower might also be able to assist in distributing energy-conserving tools where they are most needed.

A major need of the campaign is for people to provide some of the tools that can help cut down on heating costs.

For example, we have been looking for manufacturers or retailers of window sealing products to join with us in

putting these tools in the hands of the neediest households. There are a number of products that can make heating

less costly, but many homes that could use them most cannot afford them or are not aware of them.