2023 marks EnergyCare’s official 40th anniversary and we are honored to be carrying out the mission set by Sister Pat so many years ago. Sister Patricia Kelley began this work after a yearlong sabbatical. During this time of reflection, she set her mind to doing something that would help people living with the challenges of poverty. Pat was a practical woman, who knew that you cannot do all things: so she took a very important practical piece of the struggles she saw and worked to find a solution. In many ways, Sister Pat was years ahead of her time. Not only did she identify the climate, and extreme temperatures, as a major concern to the elderly and other vulnerable people living without adequate heating or air conditioning in their homes years before everyone else caught on but she also put forward a model that focused on long term solutions.
This July was the hottest month on record thus far. After a decade of record setting heat worldwide, global temperatures are now making headlines. We are grateful for your support that allows us to serve this growing need in the community. As humans, we also have an impact on the environment: our built environment in some areas of the St. Louis region also contributes to the dangerous heat conditions. Asphalt and concrete that often surround urban homes acts the same way, and when combined with the high humidity of St. Louis summers, we have a very dangerous environment. Thanks to Sister Pat’s forward-thinking years ago, we continue working on her mission to help people in these situations: keeping them safe from the extremes and helping them find their way forward.
