With the holiday season around the corner, Citizens Energy Group offers employees opportunities to support families in need.
Purchase Paul Riggins Giving Tree Gifts
Ten days before Christmas in 1992, Paul Riggins, who worked for Citizens as a machinist for 47 years, taped a $5 bill to the outline of a Christmas tree on the wall of the facility where he worked. Expecting that someone would take it, he vowed that he would give it to charity if it remained at the end of the week. To Riggins’ surprise, his co-workers began taping $1, $5, $10, $20, and even $50 bills to the wall to be given to charity.
We continue this idea today with the Paul Riggins Giving Tree. Citizens Energy Group is sponsoring three Central Indiana families this holiday season, providing gifts and household necessities. Employees may sign up online at bit.ly/PaulRiggins2019 to purchase specific gifts. Cash donations also are accepted.
Unwrapped gifts and cash donations must be provided to one of these individuals by Monday, December 16:
- Belmont: Jessica Small
- General Office: Beth Smith, Terri Williams (1st floor); Ann Shutters (2nd floor); Jennifer Mentink (3rd floor)
- Langsdale 1A: Debbie Frye or Robert Guthrie
- Langsdale 1B: Toni Hewson or Keesha Garner
- Thermal: Jill Casky
- Westfield: Ed Bukovac
- White River: Leo Sparks
- All other water plants (Fall Creek, Harbour, Riverside, South Wellfield, TW Moses, White River North): Contact Debbie Frye to arrange for pick up.
Purchase Handmade Items at Holiday Party
At Citizens’ annual holiday event on December 2 (If you haven't registered yet, you can do so HERE!), ornaments handmade by retiree Ken Whittington, and bracelets made by his granddaughter, will be available for purchase. Only cash will be accepted. Proceeds will support the Paul Riggins Giving Tree program, to purchase gifts for the families that Citizens is sponsoring.
Donate to Warm Heart Warm Home
Citizens’ Warm Heart Warm Home FoundationTM (WHWHF) provides financial assistance to customers having difficulty paying their utility bills. When combined with other forms of assistance, Warm Heart Warm Home grants can help customers sustain their utility services and catch up on past due bills. You can help those in need by donating to the WHWHF. Citizens will match annual donations to the foundation up to $50,000. Donations are tax deductible and all contributions go directly to customers in need. There are four ways for employees to provide support:
- Set up a payroll deduction: Click on the “to make a donation” link under the Warm Heart Warm Home logo on the iTrust home page. Enter the amount you’d like to donate per payroll period and submit the form.
- Set up a recurring monthly donation: If you are a Citizens Energy Group customer, you can elect to add a monthly contribution to your bill. Visit CitizensEnergyGroup.com, hover over the “My Home” tab, and click on “Utility Services.” From there, click on “Warm Heart Warm Home” and then complete the form.
- Make a one-time donation: Use your debit or credit card through PayPal to make a one-time donation. You do not need a PayPal account. Note: PayPal retains 2.2 percent plus 30 cents of your donation to cover fees. Find a link by visiting CitizensEnergyGroup.com, hovering over the “My Home” tab, and clicking on “Utility Services.” From there, click on “Warm Heart Warm Home” and then click on the “Donate” button.
- Pay someone’s bill: If you know someone struggling to pay his or her utility bill and you know the service address and account number, you can make a gift payment. Find a link by visiting CitizensEnergyGroup.com, hovering over the “My Home” tab, and clicking on “Utility Services.” From there, click on “Warm Heart Warm Home” and choose “Gift a Payment.”
