Operation Fuel to build ice house to raise funds

A Bloomfield-based nonprofit that works with more than 100 fuel banks around Connecticut to help the state’s less fortunate keep their homes warm during the winter has come up with a novel way to illustrate what it feels like if where you live has no heat.

Operation Fuel is arranging for a small ice house to be built on the grounds of the Old State House in Hartford on Jan. 24. The house, a 15-foot by-17-foot room, is being built by Ice Matters, a Cheshire company that makes sculptures out of ice blocks.

Kim Green, Operation Fuel’s director of development, declined to say how much money was being spent on the ice house, which will only be in place for one day. But Green said similar fundraisers done by regional fuel banks in Maryland and New Jersey have proven to be successful.

“We’re expecting that about 500 people to visit the day of the event, but because its a first-time event, we don’t know what to expect in terms of the fundraising,” she said. “We hope it will get the word out, not only that we’re here to help, but how we go about helping. We’re hoping the impact will last well beyond the day of the event.”

There are 500,000 households in Connecticut that can’t afford the cost of basic needs, including energy , according to Operation Fuel officials.

Brenda Watson, executive director for the nonprofit, said that by having people sit on blocks of ice, inside walls of ice, members of the public “are going to feel what it is like not to have the heat and lights on.”

The Ice House will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 24. The Old State House grounds will have food trucks and music as well as information on energy assistance programs.

There is no charge to the public to participate, but a donation of $5 per person is encouraged, according to Watson.

Eversource Energy is the presenting sponsor for the event and Rod Powell, the utility’s president of corporate citizenship, said company officials are “always mindful of the effect the price of power has on our customers, particularly those who are facing difficult financial circumstances.”

“Like our customers, we have no control over fluctuating energy prices, but we do all we can to help them save energy where they can,” Powell said in a statement. “Partnering with Operation Fuel on events like this and the very successful Add-a-Dollar program, we’re helping to bridge the gap for struggling families.”