Voluntary Action Center fan drive aims to help lower-income families

The drive aims to distribute 250 fans to Columbia residents.

By Allison Prang

Published June 16, 2010

A drive at Columbia’s Voluntary Action Center to collect fans for local low-income households and the elderly aims to make surviving a hot Missouri summer much easier for residents vulnerable to the heat.

Although this year’s fundraiser is seeing fewer donations compared to years past, VAC Executive Director Cindy Mustard said she is optimistic they will reach this year’s goal of collecting 250 fans. Mustard said the VAC collected 108 fans in 2008 and 220 in 2009.

“It really depends on the weather,” Mustard said. “May was extremely hotter than usual.”

According to a VAC news release, May brought in more requests for fans than ever before in the drive’s 22-year history. The VAC has fan drop-off points at Lowe’s and Sam’s Club. Mustard said she hopes to do a live broadcast from one of those locations with KOMU/Channel 8 to publicize the project.

“We have done it in the past with KBIA(/91.3 FM),” Mustard said. “We usually don’t do that until July.”

Mustard said most of the VAC’s fans come from individual donors. She said although she has worked with MU student organizations in the past and is involved on campus, no student groups are currently involved in the fan project.

“If we could get a group to work with us, that would be fantastic,” said Mustard, noting that most students are gone in the summer.

Human Development and Family Studies professor Jean Ispa said in an e-mail she knows deaths occur due to the heat and that lower-income families are especially impacted.

“I'm certain that fans can help, and when you are living on a shoestring (budget), even the cost of a fan can be a big deal, so I applaud the effort,” Ispa said.

Sara Parker, an MU clinical instructor for respiratory therapy, said in an e-mail the fan drive would help many heat-related problems in those groups.

“Fans do help by keeping air from being stagnant and giving a small reprieve,” Parker said. “Any time a person is exposed to extreme temperatures, in this case heat, the body is put under stress. For people with chronic diseases, this added stress of heat can compound their health issues further.”

Mustard said although the VAC has not partnered with any MU student groups for the fan drive, in the past, she has worked with Alphi Phi Omega to help with volunteer groups and Alpha Phi Alpha for the Thanksgiving holiday. Mustard is a philanthropy adviser at Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Fans are typically distributed to families with infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly or people who are disabled. Anyone who meets any of the criteria and is in need of a fan can call the VAC office at (573)847-2273, according to the news release.