‘A LIFELINE’ OF HELP

Catholic Charities receives $500K grant from the National Grid Foundation

Kimberly Ireland (from l.), director of external affairs for National Grid, Kahri Fuller, program officer for the National Grid Foundation, Sister Betsy Van Deusen, CSJ, CEO of Catholic Charities of Albany, and Jim Salengo, external affairs manager for National Grid, present a check for $500,000 to Catholic Charities Emergency Energy Assistance Program. (Emily Benson photo)

On a cold day in upstate New York, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany was thrilled to announce a generous grant of $500,000 from the National Grid Foundation to support the organization’s Emergency Energy Assistance program.

The program provides emergency assistance with energy bills to local households and families struggling to make ends meet or keep up with the rising cost of living. 

National Grid presented the check for half a million dollars on Feb. 5 at the Pastoral Center, home of Catholic Charities’ main office. Sister Betsy Van Deusen, CSJ, CEO of Catholic Charities of Albany, said that the annual donation from National Grid is more than a grant, “it is a lifeline.”

“Our Emergency Energy Assistance program is a huge part of the work that we do,” Sister Betsy said. The program is often how Catholic Charities connects with locals in need, she added, and is then able to help families get connected with other helpful services. 

“This grant affords us many of those opportunities and it gives us a great thing to celebrate and to tell the world about.”

“The National Grid Foundation is truly grateful for this long-standing collaboration that helps keep families safe and warm,” said Kahri Fuller, program officer for the National Grid Foundation. “Affordability continues to be top of mind for this foundation, as well as National Grid. The extreme winter we’ve experienced, of freezing temperatures combined with the rising cost of living, creates significant and very real hardships for families throughout the region.”

The gratitude for the gift also greatly underscores the need at hand. In 2025, Catholic Charities provided emergency energy assistance to more than 800 households, almost double the number of homes helped in 2021. Combined with the rise of families in need, the cost of help each household requires is growing as well. In 2021, households received an average of $463 in assistance, and in 2025, the average grant rose to $617. 

“The numbers illustrate that not only does Catholic Charities serve significantly more households, but we’re having to give more assistance to those households,” Sister Betsy said.

Beyond the numbers, each household represents a real story of someone in need. Sister Betsy recalled stories of clients of the Emergency Energy Assistance program this past year: a woman who left a traumatic marriage and was going back to school to get her GED; a single mom of 5 (one child in college, another with special needs) struggling to keep up with medical bills; and an older woman who relies on her refrigeration to keep her insulin safe. 

Catholic Charities was able to work with all three cases and offer assistance with energy bills and work on payment plans to maintain costs going forward. 

Added Sister Betsy: “These stories are not just numbers, they’re real people with real struggles and hopes, and because of your generosity, they have secured stability and a renewed sense of hope.”