Northeastern Ontario initiative brings new furnaces to families in need

New initiative heating homes in need A new partnership between Reliance and The United Way is giving two families in need a new furnace this holiday season.

Sudbury — Two families are set to have brand new home heating systems thanks to a new partnership between two northeastern Ontario organizations.

The United Way Centraide North East Ontario teamed up with We the Bury and Reliance Home Comfort for the first annual Heat Your Heart, Heat Your Home contest.  Two winners were selected, each receiving a brand new high-efficiency furnace.

"We wanted to give away two furnaces to well-deserving families in our community," said Katherine Cockburn, the development manager for the northeastern chapter of the United Way. "The outpouring of support we saw from the nominations was just incredible."

Since the beginning of November, people were encouraged to either nominate themselves or someone they knew that could benefit from a brand new furnace.

The Morin family was nominated by several different people after what has been described as both a blessed and challenging year.

(Photo credit: JN Photography)

Parents Adrianna and Pierre welcomed their new baby, Frederik, in the spring and his now 8 months old. However, the journey has been anything but easy. Frederik was born with a bilateral cleft lip and has been diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy.

On top of all of that, worries about their aging furnace have been lingering.

"It likes to come in and out when it wants and we have one of the nice, old dialed thermostats where you can guess what your temperature is going to be," Adriana said.

As one of the winners of the contest, the family said they are beyond appreciative.

"Our awesome families have been very supportive and they knew that replacing our antique furnace would be one more thing not to worry about," Adriana said. "When we’re out of town, gone for a few days, you don’t want to come back to burst pipes. And it’s just one more thing that we don’t know if I’ll be able to return to work, so it’s one more thing that financially we don’t have to stress about."

Also set to receive a much-needed upgrade is the Van De Kraats family. With both kids out of the house, Sherie Van De Kraat has been working towards a new post-secondary graduation. However, she’s also faced health and financial challenges, as she and her husband work to get back on their feet.

"I wasn’t able to work this last year because I’ve had issues with my health, ongoing issues with my mobility, so I wasn’t able to work for the summer," Sherie said. "Our furnace is 27 years old and it’s at the point where if it goes, we’re down to electric heaters plugged in throughout the house."

The furnace giveaway was just one part of the new initiative. A toy drive was also held prior to the contest, with more than $20,000 in toys raised for families in need.