DAPHNE— Jennifer Bruijn knows that not everyone is prospering locally.

As executive director of Ecumenical Ministries Inc., she sees those needs on a regular basis and often wishes her organization could do more to help.

That will soon be possible, thanks to Daphne Utilities’ newly implemented Lend a Hand program, she said.

Utility customers can donate to the program by “rounding up” the amount paid on their bill, thus making a donation to the new program.

“If you look at Daphne’s economy, you’ll see that a lot of folks work in the service industry,” Bruijn said.

“Those same people, whether they are bagging your groceries or taking money at a gas station, probably aren’t making a whole lot of money,” she said.

“It’s also true that any of us can fall on hard times financially; Any of us might need some help at one time or another,” Bruijn said.

“We are so excited about this new program because it will allow our agency to assist even more people in hardship situations,” she said.

Under the new program, applicants will be screened according to their incomes and financial needs, said Daphne Utilities manager Rob McElroy.

EMI will play an important part in helping to make this assistance go as far as possible, he said.

“Say we have $400 in the fund, we notify Ecumenical Ministries of that amount and we believe they will be able to help us spread this around to the bills of people in need,” he said.

Individual donations may be small — “literally just pennies at a time,” McElroy said.

But he believes the fund will grow quickly as utility customers become more familiar with the program and how it is helping others.

“Pennies from 10,000 utility customers can add up dramatically and we’re going to work hard to see that happen. We want our customers to know what this is all about,” McElroy said.

McElroy said his agency will retain the “ultimate right” to determine how the money is spent.

Local policy-makers have already responded favorably to the idea.

Councilman Gus Palumbo agreed that a need exists locally for this type of assistance, calling it a great idea.

Lon Johnston, Daphne Utilities board member, said he understands that circumstances may arise that make it hard for a customer to pay a bill.

“We certainly aren’t out to make things any tougher for people than they might already be,” Johnston said.

“And within reason, we want to do what we can to make a difference.”