AHIP and Tiger Fuel partnering to help a couple in Crozet

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - The Albemarle Housing Improvement Program and Tiger Fuel are teaming up to help a Crozet couple safely get around their home.

Gene Rea says he has twice fallen down the stairs, which caused him to reach out for help.

“I had a heart attack last year in September and I decided to call them,” he said.

AHIP answered the call, and is working with Tiger Fuel to fix up the couple’s porch and stairs.

“AHIP believes that everyone should be safe at home,” AHIP Executive Director Jennifer Jacobs said.

AHIP and Tiger Fuel have been working together for years, teaming up for several projects each summer.

“We’re busier in the winter when we’re delivering fuel, so we have more manpower to offer up in the summer,” Tiger Fuel COO Taylor Sutton said.

The program had previously helped Rea’s mother.

“They came out and built a ramp for her so she can get in and out of her house safely,” he said. “It means a lot to me and my wife. We appreciate AHIP taking the time and effort to come out here and do this work for us.”

“A lot of people have friends or family members who’ve been helped by us. We’ve been around for 47 years, so there’s a lot of word of mouth in the community,” Jacobs said. “At any given time we probably have 10 to 20 projects going on at once. Over the year, between 90 and 110 projects, families that we help in Charlottesville and Albemarle.”

AHIP is currently doing a match campaign, matching up to $150,000 in donations.

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