Oct 01, 2020

Greenville Water Helps United Way “Keep the Lights On” Through a New Utility Assistance Program

Greenville Water is partnering with United Way of Greenville County to support community members who are behind on their utility bills as a direct result of the pandemic. United Way is accepting requests for relief in distributing COVID-19 funds through its special Keep the Lights On initiative.

Since utilities cannot directly access COVID-19 funds on behalf of their customers, Greenville Water worked creatively on suggestions to State and County lawmakers, government officials, and private-sector partners regarding how to aid the people who need it the most. Greenville Water also held numerous meetings with United Way and County staff to strengthen their understanding of the magnitude of need in the community.

“Greenville Water’s primary responsibility is to ensure our community has access to this essential water service without interruption and is actively looking for avenues to assist United Way in their relief efforts,” said David Bereskin, Greenville Water CEO. “We continue to support our customer’s payment needs through payment arrangements and continue to search for funds to be made available to our 501(c)(3) partners.”

As a longstanding partner of United Way, the Greenville Water customer service team has been promoting the United Way Community Resource Line for essential community support since the beginning of the pandemic.

Community members in need of assistance with utility payments are asked to call the United Way Community Resource Line at 2-1-1, or 866-892-9211. In addition to the Keep the Lights On fund, resource line operators can connect callers to other available community resources, including area food banks, rent and housing assistance, employment, transportation, healthcare and more.

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