Pennsylvania Marketer Warms the Hearts of Canines and Their Human Parents

Bernville Quality Fuels in Reading, Penn., takes a lot of pride in supporting the community. That means not only taking great care in serving customers, but also supporting local causes and helping out those in need. One of the company’s favorite causes is the Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue (DVGRR) in Reinholds, Pa. What began as a marketer-customer relationship turned into a long-standing partnership that benefits more than just the humans involved. After all, who wouldn’t want to help a golden ball of fur when it’s down on its luck?

Bernville Quality Fuels (BQF) was founded in 1984 and provides fuels and services to residential, commercial, and farming communities across seven counties. It has been serving Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue since 2012. The rescue, launched in 1993, focuses specifically on finding homes for golden retrievers, goldendoodles, and Labrador retrievers. BQF supplies propane for two 1000-gal. tanks for the rescue’s kennels and offices, and a 500-gal. underground tank for the sanctuary home, which supplies heat for the older dogs who need warmth and comfort during their retirement years.

BQF also assisted DVGRR with building its new 5600-sq-ft adoption and activity center last December by looking at the blueprints to determine the square footage and layout, and then making the recommendation for two 100,000-Btu Modine Mfg. Co. heating units. After construction was complete, the company installed the heating system. The pole-building–style structure weatherproofs the rescue’s adoption days with two 12-ft-high garage doors that can be opened in the summer to let air circulate. During the winter, the two propane-fueled heaters keep canines — and humans — warm so they can enjoy time getting to know their forever families.

These adoption “Meet & Greet” days allow the public and approved adopters to visit the five-acre campus known as the Golden Gateway to tour the facility and meet dogs available for adoption. But until the facility partnered with Bernville, the events were highly weather-dependent. “We historically have had to cancel two or three adoption days per year because of rain or snow. Now, because of our new facility, we don’t have that issue,” says John Plummer, executive director of DVGRR. He says they have greatly appreciated the partnership with BQF. “Bernville Fuels has been a great partner with us and their team is very easy to work with. We have three propane tanks on-site — two 1000-gallon and one 500-gallon, and we set up automatic delivery with them so that they can fill all three tanks at the same time.”

Ron Boland, Energy Advisor for BQF, says his team has worked with Plummer for many years and was happy to be involved in the development of the new building. “The DVGRR facility is well known in the community for caring for these dogs to give them a better chance in life. Their volunteers and staff are top-notch in this profession,” according to Boland.

Shelby Bell, executive director of the Pennsylvania Propane Gas Association, notes that many association members take great pride in being involved in their communities and helping one another. “The partnership between the Delaware Valley Rescue and Bernville Fuels is a natural alliance. Supporting their cause with both volunteer time and an efficient and dependable source of fuel means that the nonprofit can focus more of its funds on helping the dogs,” she says.

Plummer couldn’t agree more, as heating the buildings is one of the rescue’s biggest expenses. “One major benefit is that heating with propane is more affordable than heating with an oil-based or electric system,” he said. He also reports that the propane systems have been extremely reliable. “We’ve had negative windchill temperatures and the heaters inside the building worked perfectly to take the chill off during indoor events. We were a comfortable 65 degrees inside.” Additionally, he appreciates the flexibility that using propane provides. “Propane offers a gas option no matter where a building is located, which is beneficial to us because we are in a rural area and do not have access to natural gas lines like we would if we were located in an urban area.”

In addition to the heaters, the facility is equipped with two propane-powered generators that provide back-up protection in the event of a power outage. The generators are in use frequently over the course of a year, especially in the summer during thunderstorm season. Since the power lines are located above ground it doesn’t take much for a tree limb to land on one — potentially leaving the facility without power. “It’s nice knowing when that happens we have the generators and that they are hooked up to a dependable source of fuel and will switch on as soon as they detect we are without power. The generators power the well-pump, lights, heating, and A/C — all the basics that we need to keep the dogs comfortable.”

As a 100% donor-funded 501c(3) nonprofit, the biggest challenge facing DVGRR is funding. Each spring, the organization holds its annual fundraiser, the Golden Gala, to raise money for operational expenses and to help supplement income received from donors and supporters. This year’s gala brought in a record-breaking crowd of 238 people, which was great news for the facility. “We want to provide quality care to rehabilitate the dogs while they are with us and that takes money. We do everything we can to get the best deals possible with our vendors and suppliers and take very seriously our fiduciary responsibility to steward our donors’ dollars in the best way possible,” says Plummer.

BQF — soon to be named Eastern Propane — is part of Tulsa-based NGL Energy Partners and employs more than 40 dedicated team members. It was the need for reliable and affordable energy that originally brought DVGRR and BQF together. Their partnership is sure to continue to remain strong — which is certainly a reward for both their two-legged and four-legged beneficiaries.

Anyone who would like to learn more about, or donate to, the Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue can visit its website, www.dvgrr.org. Information on Bernville Quality Fuel’s products and services can be found at www.bqfuels.com.