COUNTY News:

When sorting out the best targets for your contributions on Giving Tuesday, keep Blinky, Toasty, Droppy, and Duke in mind. These four mascots represent the services provided through the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities (DPU) and are featured on merchandise to support the Utilities Assistance Program (UAP).

“DPU has a long history of helping qualified customers who struggle to pay their utility bills. The UAP is a program that is funded through the generous voluntary contributions of utility customers and there’s no way we can express our appreciation for that support enough,” Utility Manager Philo Shelton said. “The past couple of years have been more difficult for many people and while contributions are still coming in, the requests for help are increasing beyond the program’s available funding.”

One way that DPU is attempting to increase the UAP fund balance is through its new online store on the Zazzle platform, at ladpu.com/shop. As a publicly owned utility, DPU is not supported by profits.

Likewise, any profits made on the sales of DPU merchandise will go directly to the UAP fund, not utility operations. Through the online shop, apparel and merchandise featuring DPU’s mascots are available to the public.

“We had a great response when we introduced our utility service mascots, even to the point that folks around town asked to buy T-shirts that feature them,” Shelton said. “We hope our little shop brings some extra funding to the customers that really need it and we’re excited that it has rolled out in time for Giving Tuesday.”

Other avenues for contributing to the UAP include the traditional method of rounding up utility bill payments as well as by providing sustaining support through monthly voluntary contributions that are included as line items on the utility bill.

For more information on all methods of supporting the UAP, as well as information on applying for assistance, please visit ladpu.com/assist. The DPU shop can be found at ladpu.com/shop.