Our Program
Our Mission:
Operation Fuel partners with communities, businesses, government and individuals to ensure people in need have access to year-round energy assistance.
Our History:
During the late 1970’s, a world-wide oil embargo caused an escalation in home energy costs. Despite the best efforts of state and federal government energy programs, the working-poor of Connecticut were still struggling to meet their energy needs and provide food and shelter for their families. In 1977, then Governor Ella Grasso, Father Thomas Lynch and leaders in the banking, insurance, and utility industries created a temporary crisis intervention program and named it Operation Fuel. The mission they gave to this new organization was to raise and provide funding to the families in our state who were falling through the gaps.
More than 30 years later, Operation Fuel is still devoted to caring for the most vulnerable members of Connecticut’s population. We are devoted to responding to the energy needs of the communities we operate in and to providing warmth and light on the coldest, darkest nights of the year.
Our Process:
Operation Fuel, a member of the National Fuel Funds Network, is a collaborative effort of our central office staff and the hundreds of volunteers in fuel banks throughout the state that recognize the ever growing energy crisis as an epidemic that attacks not only the poor and the elderly, but the young family down the street, the college student in the apartment next door, and the middle aged couple who just experienced a layoff. Due to the widespread need for energy assistance, Operation Fuel has enlisted the assistance of volunteer organizations in over 100 locations, statewide. Chances are Operation Fuel has a fuel bank in your town, or in one close by, that will not only help you keep the lights on but work with you to find the best solution to your problem.
When you apply for Operation Fuel assistance, you will be referred to the fuel bank in your area to complete your intake process. Our volunteers will fill out your application and process the paperwork needed to approve you for an emergency energy assistance grant. Once completed, the fuel bank will mail your application and supporting documentation to our central office in Bloomfield, where our Program and Finance staff will review the application, authorize payment, and mail the check directly to your oil or utility vendor.
Who We Help:
Operation Fuel is committed to providing assistance to the residents of Connecticut who may have no other option to cover their energy costs. Our approval is income based, but our private dollars allow us to truly help all of Connecticut’s citizens in energy crisis, regardless of income, at the discretion of our Program Staff and Executive Director.
