Demand for help has increased. In the fiscal year ending last June, the fund helped more than 7,700 families. After electricity prices spiked last summer, the fund assisted nearly 5,000 by December. So far, payments out have increased 45 percent compared with last year, Vanni said.
Ratepayers have to meet income guidelines - earning less than about $2,500 a month for a family of three. BGE matches 50 cents of every $1 the fund contributes, so donations go a long way, Vanni said.
But the nonprofit has already spent about 70 percent of its reserve fund this year, she said. The demand forced agencies that distribute the money to cap payments - in Carroll County, people received a maximum of $50 and referrals to other charities.
And although the weather is getting warmer, the need is still great, Vanni said. Utilities often cut off service in the spring if people have been struggling for months to pay their bills, she said.
"We really do need help to prevent turnoffs from happening," she said.
This year the Fuel Fund also began educating recipients about reducing energy costs through conservation - by taking shorter showers, wearing warm clothes to cut down on home heating costs and turning lights off.
The humble penny doesn't seem to get much respect these days in other circles. It costs more than $134 million to make $80 million in pennies because of the base cost of the metals that make up the modern coin, according to a recent 60 Minutes report.
For years, people have discussed eliminating the penny. Earlier this year, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said he thought the penny was less useful than any other currency, according to news reports - although it might not be politically feasible to eliminate it from circulation entirely.
But Rudis, Johnson and Urban all recall a time when the penny had a lot more buying power.
Rudis used to sell Ladies' Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post as an 8- or 9-year-old to earn pennies for spending money. He remembered gumball machines and weighing scales on every corner, all powered by pennies.
Johnson remembered children pitching pennies during recess and gathering glass bottles to exchange for the deposits and using the proceeds for candy such as long ropes of licorice and wax bottles.
He said the perception of value might have changed for many things - but not for acts of kindness.
"Even a small amount of doing good makes a difference," Johnson said.
liz.kay@baltsun.com
