Warming Hearts (and Homes) in Winter

A classic scene of embracing the winter season is bundling up on the couch with family and friends, grateful to know winter’s chill and even more so to be able to avoid it at will. Even thinking about it warms the soul like a fireplace heats a room. 

“I don’t have to worry now—I know we will wake up in the morning” said Ken, a 97-year-old who received a bulk fuel delivery through the Warmth Support Program. 

In Burlington, VT, the average high temperature in December is 33 degrees. The average low? Just 18. And when a family is struggling financially, that often comes at the expense of their heating bills. Each winter, thousands of Vermont residents struggle to heat their homes, and that’s where Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO)’s Warmth Support Program makes a difference. 

Founded in 1986, the Warmth Support Program has provided over 93,900 emergency disbursements to help keep families safe and warm throughout the winter season. The program is vitally important during the beginning and end of the heating season, when state and federal assistance programs are not available. During last year’s heating season, the program provided assistance to more than 1,319 households statewide. 

“As Vermonters, our staff is all too familiar with the frigid temperatures that hit our region during the winter months,” Community Bank Regional President Matt Durkee said. “Having heat is not a luxury for our communities, it’s a necessity, and we need to help our neighbors in need.” 

For several years, Community Bank has partnered with CVOEO to raise money for the organization’s Warmth Support Program and help low-income Vermont families stay warm. In 2024, the bank matched program donations dollar for dollar up to a total of $20,000. 

“The 2023-2024 winter season was challenging,” said Travis Poulin, CVOEO Community Action Network Director. “The Statewide Warmth Support Program Committee, which is convened and facilitated by the CVOEO Warmth Coordinator, decided to increase the maximum per-household annual warmth assist from $300 to $500 in response to the increased cost of home-heating fuel. This was crucial to our being able to provide an adequate level of assistance for many households this past season.” 

Partnerships like this one don’t just keep individual households safe, but also strengthen the community as a whole, fostering a culture of empathy and action. Participants in the program, many of whom are seniors on fixed incomes, are overwhelmed not just by what the program provides, but by the genuine warmth that the program staff show to those in need. One such participant says it this way: 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. You do not know how much it meant to me to be able to talk to someone who was so kind and understanding. Since my husband passed it has been difficult to cover all the bills, and I am so grateful for your help.”