The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities John Alfred and Oscar Johnson Memorial Trust/BPU Good Neighbor Fund has distributed $156,642.75 to customers in need since 2011.
The Johnson/BPU Good Neighbor Fund is intended to assist customers with BPU bills, should sudden troubles prevent them from paying utilities on time.
Customers who pay BPU bills regularly, who receive no social services assistance for utility bills and who experience a sudden hardship may be eligible for help through the fund.
Customers on Social Security, Food Stamps and HEAP may qualify. Aid is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Available dollars from the fund could be depleted at any time and assistance would not be available. The fund is open to all income levels.
Customers who believe they may qualify should contact the Salvation Army in Jamestown at 716-664-4108 to make an appointment. The Salvation Army will verify the hardship and then contact the BPU to validate the payment history.
Examples of financial hardships include, but are not limited to, an unknown leak in plumbing that may quickly result in costly water and sewer bills; an accident, sudden illness or job loss that could prevent timely payments; or an immediate necessary house repair that leaves a customer with utility bills that cannot be paid on time.
Assistance with BPU bills this past year included people with unexpected medical expenses, sudden loss of income or wages, victims of robbery or domestic violence, court costs and family deaths.
Money for the fund comes from private donors who contribute to the Johnson/BPU Good Neighbor Fund at the utility and customers who add dollars and cents to their payment checks or online for the fund. A donation box is now available in the BPU’s Customer Service Office, 92 Steele Street.
Local businesses also contribute as a “Good Neighbor of the Month” and are recognized through the BPU’s monthly customer newsletter, the BPU’s social media channels and the BPU website at www.jamestownbpu.com. Interested businesses in the “Good Neighbor” program may contact BPU Communications Coordinator Becky Robbins for more information.
The BPU also maintains an endowment fund at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation (CRCF) which earns annual income to augment the amount of money that can be used to assist customers in this way.
The CRCF John Alfred and Oscar Johnson Memorial Trust/BPU Good Neighbor Fund was established with the Johnson Foundation’s gift to the fund in memory of John Alfred Johnson, who, with his brother Oscar, emigrated from Sweden to Jamestown. John worked for a local manufacturer daily and with his brother in construction at night. John worked hard, saving and investing his money. An American citizen, John considered himself a “working man” and was proud of his Swedish heritage.
Upon his death, Johnson created the Johnson Foundation to be administered by the late Jamestown Swedish Consul and attorney John Sellstrom, and his late wife, Carole. The Johnson Foundation grant to the BPU Good Neighbor Fund enabled the utility to endow and name the CRCF fund in 2014.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the fund may send checks to the Johnson/BPU Good Neighbor Fund, c/o Becky Robbins, Jamestown BPU, P.O. Box 700, Jamestown. Gifts to the endowment fund may be sent to the CRCF c/o Johnson/BPU Good Neighbor Fund, 418 Spring Street, Jamestown, NY 14701.
Gifts may be taken to the BPU Customer Service Office, 92 Steele Street or be made when paying a bill by mail or online at www.jamestownbpu.com.
