The remaining summer days should be a little cooler for some Jefferson City households after a donation from Westlake Ace Hardware customers.
Starting in mid-July, customers could donate money at the checkouts during the store's first fan drive for the Jefferson City Salvation Army. The collection continued for three weeks, said Randy Miller, Jefferson City Westlake Ace Hardware general manager.
The customers' generosity yielded a donation of 71 Lasko 20-inch box fans for area residents in need of cooling assistance. The Salvation Army picked up the load of fans Wednesday morning.
Of Westlake Ace's three central Missouri locations, Jefferson City received the second most fans. Columbia was given 209 fans and Warrensburg took 33.
Elderly and families with young children top the Salvation Army's distribution list. Lt. Christopher White, the Jefferson City Salvation Army Corps officer, said the organization's social services do not provide fans, but the center acts as a cooling station. He added the Salvation Army has partnered with the United Way and Sears in the past to offer fans for free.
"For many people, it will become the primary cooling source in their house," White said. "Many people aren't fortunate to have central air conditioning. Many people aren't fortunate enough to even have window units. Or they have one window unit, but it's only in the bedroom ... everything else is hot in their house. This really could be primary or supplemental for them, maybe in a room that doesn't have cooling."
Fans aren't always a budget item for low-income families, he added.
"They're expensive, you know," White said. "For many of us, we can just go and buy a fan, but for others, it's a case of, "Do I save up some money and go out and buy a fan? Or do I get groceries? Do I pay the electric bill so I can keep the fan running?' Those are really tough choices they have to make."
Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA), a regional nonprofit, exhausted its Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds in the first week of July after assisting families with cooling needs. The funds have run out the past two years, CMCA Executive Director Angela Hirsch said earlier. That's when other agencies, like the Salvation Army, and churches come in to help, she said.
Though there are about seven more weeks of summer, White said the Salvation Army will try and distribute all the fans before fall. He added the fans are "good quality" and should last clients for years.