By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
Operation Provider, centrally located in Rimforest at 26525 Pine Avenue, services all the west end mountain communities and has had a busy winter. Even though now it is supposed to be spring, the higher heating and electricity bills being received by mountain residents is shocking residents and busting their budgets. Operation Provider is again able to offer some utility assistance to them and the help they offer though their United Way programs.
To apply for this utility bill-pay help program, appointments can be made for Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. by calling (909) 337-8585. For the gas assistance program, they need proof of income, proof of residence and the unpaid bill. Operation Provider can offer $100 in gas payment assistance, more than once a year, but an appointment is needed. SoCal Edison bill-pay assistance can only be offered once a year.
Operation Provider is best known for their 34 years of offering supplemental food to those in need. They give out bags of food on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m. They give out breads and canned and non- perishable foods on Tuesdays and fresh produce (and frozen meats when available) on Thursdays. Each year they assist more than 9,600 individuals in the mountain communities. They are the largest food bank in the San Bernardino mountains and have served over 250,000 boxes of weekly groceries since opening in 1989.
Now Operation Provider also needs some assistance in two areas. The first concern is to keep their doors opens and pay for some of the real-cost overhead. As some of their previous monthly private donors and sponsors have moved off the mountain, they are seeking some new monthly contributors. Even any one-time donation helps. All the workers at Operation Provider are volunteers, but they now need reliable funding for the fixed monthly overhead expenses like electricity to keep the lights on and the freezers and refrigerators operating.
They are also seeking building materials to replace a shed. Last winter a tree crushed their storage shed; now that the weather is nicer, it is time to build a new one. They need building materials and some carpentry skills to get this shed replaced. Any contractor with extra 2x4s, plywood sheets, or other building materials that might be useful in the construction of a shed should contact Holland Lowe at Operation Provider at (909) 337-8585 and let her know or bring the material to the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 to 2.
For more information on Operation Provider, visit www.operationprovider.org.
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