Norton Insurance • Financial Responds to Shortfall in Heating Assistance | Business

Local Business Turns $7,000 Gift into $9,000 in Heating Assistance for Maine Families in Need

Peter Fendler shivered as he got into his car on Thursday morning. The overnight temperature had dropped to the low teens in Cumberland, ME, down from a balmy 52 degrees the day before. As he switched on his radio and heard reports on the continued shortfall in Federal and State Funds for low income heating assistance, he wondered how people less fortunate than he survived the cold Maine winters without adequate heat.

Entering his office at Norton Financial • Insurance in Cumberland, he resolved to do something to see if he and his company could make a difference. "I started doing some online research, and I came upon several organizations that are committed to helping Mainers stay warm. I started emailing my business partners, and they responded with a resounding, 'Let's do it!"'

Norton Insurance • Financial made five gifts totaling $7,000 to provide heating assistance to Mainers. Norton contributed $2,000 to the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation in Bangor. That foundation matches all gifts up to $70,000 received to provide heating assistance for Bangor area residents. Norton also contributed a total of $5,000 to Community Concepts Fuel Assistance Program and three Maine Community Action Agencies – Waldo Community Action Partners, Western Maine Community Action, and Penquis - all of which provide heating assistance programs in their communities.

"With the matching gift from the King Foundation, we were able to turn our $7,000 gift into a $9,000 gift," said Fendler, President of Norton Financial. "As financial and insurance professionals, we just love it when we can produce that kind of return on our investment. We encourage other Maine business who have been fortunate during difficult times to do the same."

For more about Norton Insurance • Financial:
http://www.nortonne.com/about-us/