Agency partners will distribute the air conditioners to qualifying AmerenUE customers. Those partners are the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and Better Family Life in St. Louis; the Samaritan Center of Jefferson City; the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging and the East Missouri Action Agency in Cape Girardeau; Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service of St. Charles County; and the Jefferson County Health Department.
The Urban League received 225 air conditioners to distribute to recipients; AmerenUE donated 50 units each to the Samaritan Center and Sts. Joachim and Ann, and delivered a total of 50 units to the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging and the East Missouri Action Agency. In addition, the Jefferson County Health Department received 25 air conditioners; Better Life Family received 20. Once AmerenUE employee volunteers deliver the air conditioners to the agencies, social service agency volunteers will deliver and/or install the air conditioners for recipients.
Eligible recipients, who have already been selected, are AmerenUE Medical Equipment Registry low income customers, AmerenUE Registered Program low income customers and all other low income elderly customers. Participating agencies used poverty guidelines and other circumstances to qualify air conditioner recipients. A registered AmerenUE customer is one who has completed a form approved by AmerenUE attesting to the fact that he or she is age 65 or older or disabled. Medical Equipment Registry customers are customers who have completed physician-supplied forms approved by AmerenUE attesting to the fact that they must have electricity to maintain life or health.
As part of the "Be Cool" program, each air conditioner recipient will also receive an energy conservation kit. This kit includes a fold-out weatherization poster, brochures on energy efficiency, safety tips, and budget billing and payment information to help customers save money and energy, as well as an energy assistance guide. The kit, contained within a handsome business tote, includes a water bottle, glow-in-the-dark light switch plate, emergency contact number magnet, pen, paper pad, energy conservation wheel and flashlight.
"Through the 'Be Cool' program, AmerenUE and its partners are able to provide free air conditioning units for qualifying elderly and low income residential customers. This is essential to keeping these customers safe during the hot summer months," said Richard Mark, AmerenUE senior vice president, Missouri Energy Delivery. "Just as important, however, is encouraging people to turn on those air conditioners. On average, it costs $1.50 a day to run a window-unit air conditioner during the summer. Yet every year, people become needlessly sick or even die because of hot weather - even people who have air conditioners."
SAM'S CLUB graciously provided transportation of the air conditioners to the Urban League in St. Louis.
"We are proud to partner with AmerenUE in this endeavor," said Mike Roberts, SAM'S CLUB regional general manager. "As the nation's largest warehouse chain, we believe in helping to make a difference in the communities we serve by doing the good things neighbors do, and by giving our time and money to support local needs."
In addition to AmerenUE and SAM'S CLUB, Jefferson College and We Rent It are also partners in the "Be Cool" program. Jefferson College volunteers will help the Jefferson County Health Department deliver and install air conditioners. In St. Louis, We Rent It provided the dollies used for the Urban League air conditioner delivery free of charge.
About Ameren
With residential electric retail rates that are nearly 30 percent below the national average, AmerenUE provides electricity and natural gas to 1.2 million customers in Missouri. With $18 billion in assets, Ameren Corporation, through its affiliates, serves 2.4 million electric and nearly 1 million natural gas customers across 64,000 square miles of Illinois and Missouri.
About SAM'S CLUB
SAM'S CLUB (www.samsclub.com), a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is the nation's largest warehouse chain in the United States serving small business owners and operators. The purchasing agent of choice, SAM'S CLUB provides every day low cost to more than 47 million entrepreneurs and consumers.
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