The Oil Heat Cares Foundation, an initiative of the National Association of Oil & Energy Service Professionals (OESP), brought the installation of a much-needed boiler to a family in the Bronx, New York, this new year.

When homeowner Milagros Orizal was told by her service provider last month that her boiler was leaking, she realized the problem had the potential to render her home uninhabitable.

Orizal and her mother, of Parkchester in the Bronx, both live on fixed-income disability pensions.  

Faced with the prospect of living without heat or hot water, Orizal contacted Pete Gonzalez, owner and CEO of Pete Gonzalez Heating Co. in Morris Park.

Gonzalez, a member of the New York City chapter of OESP who had patched up the family’s old boiler in the past, encouraged Orizal to apply for a grant through “Oil Heat Cares,” the OESP’s national charity.

Orizal’s application was quickly approved, and within days, she learned she would become the proud owner of a new boiler and related equipment. Students at Bronx Design and Construction Academy High School, supervised by Gonzalez and other industry professionals, donated their time to install the new heating system.

The project brings hot water and heat back to the family, and also on-the-job field experience for a class of future oil and energy service technicians in New York.

Visit www.oilheatcares.com