Volunteering & Contributing
Investing in Our Communities
AVANGRID is committed to being an active partner with local communities, state and federal government and other stakeholders to enable the clean energy transition. AVANGRID knows we cannot have successful economic development without growing and revitalizing communities that host this development. We recognize that we must make a meaningful commitment of resources to our urban communities. We must revitalize our cities and towns and make them attractive places for commercial, industrial and residential development.
CONNECTICUT: NEIGHBORHOOD ASSISTANCE
Since 2010, United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas and Connecticut Natural Gas have awarded more than $3.3 million in energy efficiency grants to hundreds of nonprofit community organizations via the state’s Neighborhood Assistance Act tax credit program. In 2018, 59 organizations in 25 Connecticut communities received a total of more than $400,000 in grants to help them improve efficiency and reduce their energy costs. The grants, ranging from about $4,500 to more than $18,000, supported projects including upgrades to Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo’s greenhouse energy conservation project in Bridgeport; efficiency grants for Capital for Change, a community development financial institution based in New Haven; and support for efficient lighting at Hartbeat Ensemble’s Carriage House Theatre in Hartford.
NYSEG AND RG&E TACKLE FOOD INSECURITY AS PART OF COMPANY'S VOLUNTEER WEEK EFFORT
NYSEG welcomed dozens of volunteers and donors to their office location in Vestal during International Volunteer Week to collect canned food and empty bottles and cans in support of CHOW (Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse) Programs in the Binghamton area. This event was part of a global effort by AVANGRID to address food insecurity.
More than 1,870 redemption bottles and cans and two barrels of canned goods were collected for donation to CHOW to support their meal programs throughout the Binghamton and Broome County area.
Joining the effort, RG&E employees held a drive-thru food collection today to benefit Foodlink and its partner agencies. The company collected more than 400 pounds of donated canned food and other nonperishable food items to help replenish Foodlink’s shelves as food insecurity remains a top issue in the region.
With the uncertainty of our current world, especially in light of the pandemic and increased food insecurity, partnerships are indispensable toward relieving some of the burdens that the vulnerable in our communities face.
EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEERISM
AVANGRID employees take pride in volunteering. In addition to countless activities throughout the year, employees annually dedicate one Saturday to give back. During the annual Employee Volunteer Day, AVANGRID employees pick up trash in parks, stock food bank shelves, work on farms, landscape, paint and take part in environmental initiatives to show support and appreciation for the community.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
AVANGRID and its companies support and work in partnership with organizations and initiatives that assist customers struggling with their energy bills. These include the New York Home Energy Assistance Program, Maine’s Electricity Lifeline Program, the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in Massachusetts. The programs provide guidance and distribute funding to residents who need help maintaining energy and heating service during the winter. A longtime partnership with HeartShare Human Services of New York also supports the Project SHARE Fund, which provides heating assistance for for needy individuals and families in the Empire State.
The assistance program received approximately $100,000 through contributions by customers and employees of NYSEG and RG&E, as well as other community partners, which was matched approximately four times for every dollar by the Avangrid Foundation. This company-initiated,
sponsored and funded program has been instrumental in helping customers since the 1980s. AVANGRID and its employees (including the Avangrid Foundation) made nearly $4.5 million in contributions to hundreds of organizations, schools, universities and municipalities in 2018.
