By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On April 15, Fenner Wind Farm operator Enel North America announced its community-based response to COVID-19.
As part of the response, the company has committed $10,000 to the CazCares food pantry in Cazenovia to help meet food security needs in the wake of the pandemic.
Enel operates the 20 turbine, 30-megawatt Fenner Wind Farm through the renewable energy company Enel Green Power North America
“[The company] reached out to us recently to see if there were any organizations that they could help during these difficult times,” said Fenner Town Supervisor Dave Jones. “As a town, we gave them several names of different groups. We did not know until recently that CazCares was the organization they chose. I believe we all know the tremendous job that CazCares does for our area. We are very grateful to Enel for their generous donation to a very deserving organization.”
Across the U.S. and Canada, Enel North America is donating $1.3 million to support 75 local organizations in communities where it currently operates.
According to Matt Epting, Enel’s media and public relations senior specialist, the company aims to not only address immediate health and social services needs, but also to help alleviate long-term socioeconomic impacts of the crisis. Additionally, Enel plans to support the economy by moving forward with its 2020 hiring plan.
“At Enel North America we have always felt a deep responsibility to support the health and well-being of the communities where we live and work, and even more so during this crisis,” said Enrico Viale, head of Enel North America, in a press release. “COVID-19 has caused unprecedented economic challenges for critical service organizations in many communities and we hope our support can provide some sense of relief. From rural hospitals to first responders, local schools and food banks, these organizations and their workers are on the frontlines and we thank essential workers everywhere for their extraordinary and unwavering response to this crisis.”
CazCares, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides food and clothing to low-income families in Cazenovia and surrounding areas of Madison County. CazCares also offers educational and literacy programming, health and wellness information and referral services to help support its clients.
“CazCares is very appreciative of this recent gift made by Enel North America, as well as those made by numerous members of the Cazenovia community,” Gigi Redmond of CazCares said. “We are experiencing an increase in the number of families we are serving at the pantry. We anticipate that the economic impacts of this situation will be with us long after the medical concerns subside and that many families will continue to need our support. These generous donations will allow us to continue to operate at this increased volume.”
During the COVID-19 shutdown, the food pantry is offering free curbside pick up of food staples from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings and from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday afternoons.
For more information on CazCares, call 315-655-3174 or visit cazcares.org.
To learn more about the local response to COVID-19, visit sites.google.com/view/cazcovidresponse/home.
