Last year, 54 families received assistance from Jamestown BPU’s Good Neighbor Fund.
Since 2011, the Jamestown Public Utilities Commission’s John Alfred and Oscar Johnson Memorial Trust/BPU Good Neighbor Fund has distributed $156,642.75 to customers in need.
The Johnson/BPU Good Neighbor Fund is designed to help customers with their BPU bills when they are unable to pay their utility bills on time due to sudden trouble.
Customers who regularly pay their BPU bills, who do not receive social welfare assistance for utility bills, and who are experiencing sudden hardship may be eligible for assistance through the fund.
Customers on Social Security, food stamps, and HEAP may qualify. Assistance is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The funds available from the Fund may be depleted at any time and assistance may no longer be available. The fund is open to all income levels.
Customers who think they may qualify should contact the Salvation Army in Jamestown at 716-664-4108 to make an appointment. The Salvation Army will confirm the hardship and contact BPU to verify payment history.
Examples of financial hardship include, but are not limited to, unexplained pipe leaks, which can quickly result in high water and sewer bills. Accidents, sudden illnesses, or unemployment that may prevent timely payments. Or, a customer may be left with a utility bill that they can’t pay on time due to urgent home repairs that need to be made.
Support for BPU bills over the past year has included people with unexpected medical expenses, sudden loss of income or wages, victims of robbery and domestic violence, court costs, death in the family, and more. Ta.
Funding for the fund comes from individual donors who donate to the Johnson/BPU Good Neighbor Fund at utility locations and from customers who add dollars and cents to the fund by check or online. A donation box is currently located at BPU’s customer service office (92 Steele Street).
Local businesses also contribute as “Good Neighbors of the Month” and are recognized through BPU’s monthly customer newsletter, BPU’s social media channels and the BPU website www.jamestownbpu.com. Businesses interested in the “Good Neighbor” program should contact Becky Robbins, BPU Communications Coordinator, for more information.
BPU also maintains an endowment fund at the Chautauqua Regional Community Foundation (CRCF) and in this way receives annual income to increase the amount of money available to assist customers.
CRCF John Alfred and Oscar Johnson Memorial Trust/BPU The Good Neighbor Fund was established by a gift from the Johnson Foundation in memory of John Alfred Johnson, who immigrated to Jamestown from Sweden with his brother Oscar. I did. John worked every day at a local manufacturer and at night on a construction site with his brother. John worked hard and saved and invested money. An American citizen, John considered himself a “worker” and was proud of his Swedish heritage.
After Mr. Johnson’s death, the Johnson Foundation was established and managed by the late Jamestown Swedish consul and lawyer John Sellstrom and his late wife Carol. A Johnson Foundation grant to the BPU Good Neighbor Fund enabled the utility to donate to and name the CRCF fund in 2014.
Anyone wishing to donate to the fund can send a check to the Johnson/BPU Good Neighbor Fund, Becky Robbins, Jamestown BPU, PO Box 700, Jamestown. Donations to the Endowment Fund may be sent to CRCF c/o Johnson/BPU Good Neighbor Fund, 418 Spring Street, Jamestown, NY 14701.
Gifts can be dropped off at the BPU Customer Service Office located at 92 Steele Street or paid when you pay your bill by mail or online at www.jamestownbpu.com.
