More than 1,300 runners, walkers and stroller-pushers of various velocities took advantage of the break in the rain Sunday morning to race and raise money for Clark County residents in need of help heating their homes.
The annual Race for Warmth, now in its fourth year, is one of Clark Public Utilities’ fundraisers for Operation Warm Heart, a customer-supported program to help households in need pay heating bills.
Last year, the utility served more than 800 households through Operation Warm Heart, and 20 percent of those homes were assisted through funds raised through the race, said utility Community Care Manager Gretchen Alexander.
“We see a lot of what I would consider those that are working with a limited income,” she said. “We see seniors, we see families with young children. A lot of times the folks that we’re seeing, they’re doing multiple things to try to meet basic living needs, and it’s just not enough.”
Frequently, many people don’t know there’s help available, she said. Clark PUD customer service representatives are trained to do quick eligibility assessments over the phone, she said, which sometimes happen when people call saying they need to make some kind of an arrangement to pay their bill.
Clark PUD spokeswoman Erica Erland said Sunday’s race raised $42,000 for Operation Warm Heart, but that amount doesn’t include money raised through hot drink sales at Burgerville restaurants.
Corporate and organizational sponsors pay for the up-front costs to organize the race, passing more of the proceeds to needy households, she said. Furthermore, the utility saves on costs by using its own traffic cones and field crews, who are trained traffic flaggers.
Energy and poverty policy researchers note cold weather can be especially bitter for low-income homes, which typically have a hard time adapting to fluctuating energy prices, spend a high share of their income on energy and disproportionately reside in less energy efficient buildings, particularly in urban areas where the housing stock is older.
Operation Warm Heart is helpful for addressing those issues, Alexander said, because it has a higher income threshold than other home heating assistance programs. That means more people can get help.
The Congressional Research Service in 2015 said only about 22 percent of people eligible nationwide for federally funded home heating assistance received any.
The year before, that assistance served close to 74,000 in Washington, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, or 19 percent of the state’s eligible population.
Andy Matarrese: 360-735-4457; andy.matarrese@columbian.com; twitter.com/andy_matter
