A recent plea for relief from the summertime heat has been answered.
The YWCA of Wheeling has already received more than 40 air conditioners to help provide relief from heat on the building's fifth floor where a number of women pay rent to live.
After the public learned of the hot temperatures the women were enduring, people began offering donations, said Carry Byrum, YWCA executive director.
''The phone was ringing off the hook. We just got brand new air conditioners today from Target. ... it was crazy. We were answering the phone all day long about air conditioners,'' Byrum said, noting she was surprised by community's response.
In addition to individuals and Target, several air conditioners also were donated by the Sisters of St. Joseph, she said. Testing of the units has begun and many of the used air conditioners are in working order.
Byrum said since the weather is cooling down, the units won't be installed in the women's 19 rooms until next summer.
''As soon as we would put them in, it would be time to take them out again,'' Byrum said.
However, some units will be placed in the common areas this season.
When the temperature was hitting 90 degrees, it was even hotter on the fifth floor, which is set up much like a dormitory. There were a couple old air conditioners in use in common areas, but because of their age, the units didn't push much cold air. Some of the women have been using box fans in their rooms. But when it was scorching outside, the air inside also felt hot, often making going to sleep impossible for the women.
Byrum said previously the YWCA couldn't afford to buy air conditioners because it is saving money to cover heating bills this winter. During cold months, the building's heating bill averages $10,000 a month.