Mom and daughter get help with bills

Share the Season is an annual campaign that offers one-time aid to people affected by unforeseen hardships. The people are not identified to protect their privacy.

The 26-year-old mother needed help.

Her 3-year-old daughter has had a benign but aggressive tumor on her face and neck for the past year and has been undergoing chemotherapy.

The mother is new at her job selling cars and – for now – doesn’t make much money.

A friend told her about Share the Season.

“I just needed a little bit of extra help; I don’t have enough money and am not making as much as I thought I would be right now,” she said. “I can’t afford to pay everything, especially with the holiday season. I want to get her some gifts.”

Last November, the mother noticed her young daughter had a puffier cheek on her left side. The tumor was pushing against the carotid artery and surrounding muscles and nerves of the face and neck.

“It is not an easy tumor to remove in surgery – that’s why she is going through the chemo in the hopes of shrinking the tumor,” she said.

The mother and daughter are waiting for the next MRI to see what their next step will be.

In the meantime, the mother is grateful.

“I want to give a tremendous thank-you. I have a great appreciation for all the help Share the Season gives to families.”

Share the Season is a joint project of The Eagle, the Wichita Community Foundation and the Salvation Army.

So far this season, it has raised more than $47,703.

Send contributions to Share the Season at the Wichita Community Foundation, 301 N. Main, Suite 100, Wichita, KS 67202. To donate online, go to www.sharetheseason.org. If you have questions about donating, call 316-264-4880.

Donors will be listed in The Eagle; please note if you prefer to remain anonymous.

To apply for help, fill out an application at www.sharetheseason.org or pick one up at the Salvation Army, 350 N. Market. The application deadline is Dec. 17. For more information, call 316-263-2769.

Among recent donors: Larry and Katie Oller; Kathryn Owens, in honor of David K. Corbin; George and Kimberly Palmer; Curtis and Mary Peck; Gary and JoAnn Pottorff; Jason and Rachel Purdy; Betty Regier; Peter and Rebecca Reynolds; Douglas and Brenda Roth; Robert Schrag; Donald and Janet Setser; Elvina Sexton; Gary and Barbara Shepard, in honor of the Shepards and the Nelsons; James Sprowl; George and Elizabeth Dell Stephens.

Shelley Von Merveldt, in honor of Kenny and Mona Smith; Dale Wahlers; Scott and Ann Weidensaul; Don and Karen Wells, in honor of our military men and women; Jean Wellshear, in honor of my family; Brian Wilkinson and Jean Ann Sleicht, in memory of Robert J. Razook; Thomas and Alice Wooldridge; Barbara Wright; the Bill and Debby Lucas Fund at the Wichita Community Foundation; the Dorth and Virginia Coombs Philanthropic Trust at the Wichita Community Foundation; the O.S. and Jaclyn Gossard Fund at the Wichita Community Foundation; the Steve and Janis Cox Charitable Fund at the Wichita Community Foundation.

This story was originally published November 26, 2016 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Mom and daughter get help with bills."