A local hardware store has partnered with two nonprofits for their fifth annual “Heat for the Holidays” campaign.
The program is organized by Winchester BMR, the House of Lazarus, and Winchester-based food bank Community Food Share. It helps low-income families in the community by providing them with condensed logs and wood pellets, so that they’ll be able to heat their homes throughout the winter.
Ken Boje, the owner of Winchester BMR who helps run deliveries for the program, says the time right before Christmas is the busiest period for deliveries. “We do the bulk of our deliveries about a week to ten days prior to Christmas,” Boje says, “but we do deliver as we get calls, either from Community Food Share or House of Lazarus, for people in need throughout the winter.” Boje says just under 50 families benefited from the campaign last year, and he expects about that many to need assistance again this winter.
People the campaign delivers wood to say they would struggle to get through the winter without it. “It really does help out,” one woman says, “through the whole year. It basically makes it easy to live, you know?” Another woman says the wood she gets through the program is the reason her house’s pipes don’t freeze during the winter.
Deliveries are being made by Boje and volunteers throughout the winter. If you need extra help getting firewood throughout the winter, Boje says you can call the House of Lazarus to sign up to receive a delivery.