NHS New Haven Launches Campaign to Create 'I (Heart) My Home' Program

Willimantic, CT (02/19/2020) — Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven (NHS) is excited to announce a new community sustainability project in New Haven called "I (Heart) My Home," which aims to help residents achieve measurable savings on energy bills and carbon emissions, while improving the comfort and indoor air quality of their home.

NHS is seeking broad support from the community and asking residents, local businesses and other organizations to donate money to make the project a reality. To learn more about the project and make a contribution, visit https://ioby.org/project/i-heart-my-home.

The project is supported by the Sustainable CT Community Match Fund, an innovative funding resource that will provide a dollar-for-dollar match for donations raised from the community, doubling local investment.

"Neighbor by neighbor, house by house, I (Heart) My Home charts clear paths for each household to achieve their home energy improvement goals," says Kathy Fay, director of Community Sustainability at NHS.

As a one-stop-shop for home energy improvements, I (Heart) My Home provides support and data to participants so they can make informed decisions, access financial resources and complete their home energy improvement goals. While the pilot focuses on low- to moderate-income homeowners and tenants, it will result in a replicable, scalable, data-driven process that can work in any Connecticut community.

About Sustainable CT and Community Match Fund

Sustainable CT is funded by the Hampshire Foundation, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and Connecticut Green Bank. The Sustainable CT Community Match Fund is an innovative funding resource that provides a dollar-for-dollar match to all donations raised from the community, doubling local investment. The program is helping to bring projects across the state to life by providing fast, accessible funding as well as fundraising coaching and support to residents and organizations with great ideas to make their communities more sustainable.

Anyone in a Sustainable CT-registered municipality (more than 50 percent of the state) is eligible to receive this funding, meaning that schools, nonprofits, community groups and individual residents can all propose projects and access the matching funds.

To start a Community Match Fund project, visit ioby.org/sustainablect or contact Sustainable CT's Abe Hilding-Salorio at hildingsalorioa@easternct.edu or 860-465-0256.

"Through the Community Match Fund, we aim to put residents at the forefront of creating positive, impactful change," said Hilding-Salorio, community outreach manager for Sustainable CT. "Match Fund projects are community led and community funded, demonstrating the power of people working together to make change in their communities."

Sustainable CT, an initiative by the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University, provides a roadmap of sustainability best practices for towns, technical assistance, funding and recognition through certification. Forty-seven towns and cities across Connecticut have earned the prestigious Sustainable CT certification, demonstrating accomplishments in nine impact categories including inclusive and equitable communities, cleaner transportation, vibrant arts and culture, natural resource stewardship and affordable housing. Find more information at www.sustainablect.org.

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Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving 5,000 students annually at its Willimantic campus and satellite locations. In addition to attracting students from 162 of Connecticut's 169 towns, Eastern also draws students from 34 other states and 19 countries. A residential campus offering 41 majors and 65 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal art foundation grounded in an array of applied learning opportunities. Ranked among the top 30 public universities in the North Region by U.S. News and World Report in its 2019 Best Colleges ratings, Eastern has also been awarded 'Green Campus' status by the Princeton Review 10 years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.