WAIM Walk for Warmth to Follow Interfaith Service Sunday

The thirty-first annual WAIM Walk for Warmth, a two-mile walk around Willimantic to raise money for families in need of housing and energy assistance, is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 19, following the annual community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service.

The service begins at 1:30 p.m. at Temple Bnai Israel, 383 Jackson St. in Willimantic, with the walk to follow at approximately 2:15 p.m. Participants may register online for the walk at www.runreg.com. They may also register beginning at 12:30 p.m. on the grounds of Temple Bnai Israel. The walk raises funds through walker sponsorships as well as from donations by individuals and faith communities.

The event will aid hundreds of low-income families, including many children, who lack the resources to pay for housing, electricity and heating fuel this winter.

THE NEED

The need for assistance has never been greater, said Victoria Nimirowski, WAIM’s Executive Director.

“In the nineteen winters I've spent at WAIM, I have never seen more people suffering from financial hardship as I do now. With rent and energy costs at exorbitant levels, the amount of assistance private organizations like WAIM were able to provide in the past hardly makes a dent in the amount of help families need today,” Nimirowski said.

For many families, a lack of access to heat and electricity contributes to still more heartbreaking problems, such as homelessness and loss of custody of children, Nimirowski said.

“WAIM's staff works tirelessly to thread together financial assistance to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in our community,” she said. “The funds generated through the Walk for Warmth are a key component of our ability to do so.”

Data from the ALICE Report, the United Way’s report on financial hardship in Connecticut, underscores the urgency of the need.

According to the report, approximately 40 percent of families in Windham and 39 percent of those in Tolland Counties had income below the ALICE Threshold (shorthand for Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed). The report estimates that the 2021 annual survival budget for a family of one in the area served by the United Way of Central and Northeast Connecticut (including Tolland and Windham Counties), was $31,608 for a single person and $99, 228 for a family of four with one infant and one toddler, before tax credits.

The ALICE Essentials Index, which measures change over time in the cost of household essentials, projected an 18.2% increase statewide in basic costs from 2021 to 2023 (before taxes). For households in Windham and Tolland Counties, that means a single person would need an estimated $37,300 and a family of four $117,000 to afford their basic needs, depending on the tax credits they receive.

OTHER WAYS TO GIVE

Participation in the walk is not necessary to donate to the Walk for Warmth fund. To contribute, individuals may go to www.waimct.org and follow the links for Walk for Warmth.

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

Proceeds from the upcoming Storrs Congregational Church Christmas Bazaar will also go toward WAIM’s housing and energy assistance fund this year. The Bazaar will take place Saturday, December 2 from 9 a.m. through 1 p.m. and Sunday, December 3, from 11 a.m. through 1:00 p.m. All are welcome.

ABOUT WAIM

The Windham Area Interfaith Ministry (WAIM) is an association of churches, synagogues, fellowships, and concerned citizens. It helps neighbors in need throughout Northeastern Connecticut with housing and energy assistance, case management, mentorship, clothing, and more. For additional information, visit waimct.org.