FORSYTH COUNTY — Military families and veterans commonly face financial issues during deployment and when returning to civilian life, but one partnership is hoping to keep them warm in what is predicted to be a cold winter.

“United Military Care and SCANA energy have partnered to provide emergency heating assistance to military families and veterans of less than 10 years, honorably discharged, throughout Georgia this winter,” said Kim Scofi, the organization’s president. “We want to make sure our veterans and military families stay warm.”

SCANA is also helping veterans with a special fund it started with a $5,000 donation to United Military Care. The energy company will match every dollar donated by the public up to $10,000.

It is also helping by providing a special per rate for anyone that has served in the military at any point, and donating to the USO, according to SCANA spokeswoman Simone McKinney.

Annie Bellinger, whose husband Tim serves with the Georgia Army National Guard and has served tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq, said the partnership knows what families need.

“They’re proactively out in the community, like with SCANA trying to promo the fact that there are the hardships with military families trying to heat their homes, trying to take care of what they need to take care of,” she said.

Scofi said United Military Care helps families in Georgia with a range of issues.

“We generally see 20 to 30 families a day in Georgia that are reaching out for some type of assistance, whether it’s just a little bit of food to put on their table until the next paycheck or they’re requesting help with a utility bill,” she said. “… I talked to a veteran this morning who was facing foreclosure.”