The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/466105
M ost every member of the National Association of Oil and Energy Service Professionals knows about non profit wing of the organization, Oil Heat Cares. But for the uninitiated, the non-profit wing of the association aims to help find heating equipment for those who need it most. Elderly pensioners, veterans, disabled folks and struggling families can all benefit from the organization's work. In one of their most recent projects, a group of technicians in the New York City chapter of the OESP helped Mr. Maxie Williams get a new boiler installed. Angel Gonzalez, OESP chapter president for the area said Williams' need was brought to his attention after a sales call. "That project came to us from Petro," said Gonzalez. "The sales rep on that project was out there trying to help out this customer, but he couldn't afford it and couldn't get credit approved. So he decided to put in an application to Oil Heat Cares." Gonzalez said Williams was in a tough spot. With his boiler down, the elderly man was using space heaters as his only supply of heat. Of course, that's incredibly dangerous, so Gonzalez pushed for a quick turnaround. And with help from a few companies for equipment, they had a brand new boiler up and running within two weeks of that initial Petro sales call. "The boiler was donated by Blackman Supply," said Gonzalez. "My employer, Carlin, donated the oil burner and steam controls for the boiler." He said Williams was incredibly grateful. "He was a sick man, an elderly man. He had just returned from the hospital and he was coming home to no heat," said Gonzalez. "It was a great turnout for him. He got a much-needed heating system, and it didn't cost him anything." The Williams project was a great fit for the organization; which strives to help out only the most needy people. "For us at the local levels, the chapters, we try to pick a worthy recipient. And there are general guidelines, but the only written guideline is that the recipient must be financially needy and can- not pay for any part of the project," said Gonzalez. "So we can't use Oil Heat Cares to help them pay for a new boiler — it's either everything or nothing." To that end, OHC has a budget of just $2,500 per project. And with a boiler, the maintenance and all the peripheral equipment, that can't cover everything. "Everything must be donated to the homeowner. Oil Heat Cares provides $2,500 in funding to assist in the materials; which certainly does not cover all the needed materials for most projects," said Gonzalez. "So that puts us in a position where we have to go out and ask for donations from manufactures and wholesalers – wherever we can get the materials and products donated." The installation must come at no cost to the homeowner. "The labor must be totally volunteer or provided by the company," said Gonzalez. "So the company can pay its own people to do the project but cannot charge the customer for labor." Dave Bessette the chairperson of the board at OHC said that each project overcomes even the stiffest competition in an effort to help those who need it most. "Out on a job, you might have technicians from other com- panies who are competitors, but they take the name off their shirt and don't even think about it," said Bessette. "They just do the install and at the end of the day, they've made somebody happy— somebody who thought something like this would never happen to them." He said it's not always easy either, with jobs coming in off hours between paying customers. "They go in on their own time. They do it either Saturday or Sunday—some jobs have gone during the week well into the night. One of the guys did a job that started at four in the afternoon and they finished up at midnight," said Bessette. "All on their own time 26 MARCH 2015 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com BUSINESS OPERATIONS Oil Heat Cares Fosters Positive Picture of the Oil Heat Industry Program Gets Heating Equipment to Needy Homeowners By NICHOlas UPtON OHC installers Rolando Trinidad, Iram DeLaCruz, homeowner Maxie Wiliams and Antidio Diaz from left to right.