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View Full Version : Hundreds of People Donate Money to Save Boston Shelter for Homeless Veterans



thedrifter
02-03-03, 07:36 AM
By Theo Emery Associated Press Writer
Published: Feb 2, 2003




BOSTON (AP) - Hundreds of people, including Gov. Mitt Romney, have pledged money to keep the lights on and the doors open at the region's largest shelter for homeless veterans, officials said Sunday.
Electric utility NStar said Friday it would shut off power to the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans unless the shelter paid a bill of nearly $190,000.

After the shelter's plight was publicized, it received about $60,000 in donations and pledges, including a $10,000 personal check from Romney, shelter director Jim McIsaac said.

"I've just been blown away. I couldn't be more surprised and grateful at the amount," McIsaac said.

NStar officials said they are optimistic that a payment plan can be worked out.

"We don't want to terminate anyone's service," company spokesman Mike Monahan said. "We really and truly have been reaching out to them and we want to work out a solution with them."

Cutting the Boston shelter's electricity would not only shut off the lights, but also computers, elevators used by disabled veterans and refrigerators that hold enough food for at least 350 people a day.

In 2001, the shelter's chief financial officer, Frank S. Ardagna, went to prison for embezzling $60,000 in shelter funds to pay personal debts. The shelter has also suffered a drop-off in donations and private funding, McIsaac said.

"This is kind of a self-inflicted wound. I'm not trying to get out from under the bill," he said. "We're not trying to stiff them. We owe them the dough. I just need a little breathing room."

The millionaire Republican governor pledged the $10,000 in the hopes it would encourage others to give, spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said.

"The governor's pledge to Jim McIsaac is that we will raise that money and pay off that electric bill and avoid a shut-off of service to the shelter," Fehrnstrom said.


Sempers,

Roger