Operation Fuel is asking individuals to consider making a donation to help families who are struggling to stay warm this winter.

The nonprofit agency is in its 36th year of providing emergency energy assistance to Connecticut households. Most recipients are either elderly or working families with children. This winter, Operation Fuel expects to receive more requests for energy assistance than it can fill, Patricia Wrice, executive director, said in a news release. One in five households can’t afford their energy bill. Last year, the organization gave out $2.4 million in energy assistance to 6,000 households, “and we could easily have given out twice that much if we had the resources,” Wrice said.

Wrice said Operation Fuel hopes to raise at least $1 million from individual donors this winter. Donations can be sent to: Operation Fuel, One Regency Drive, Suite 200, Bloomfield, CT 06002 or made online at: www.operationfuel.org.

Operation Fuel will begin taking applications Dec. 3. Individuals who need emergency energy assistance should call 211.