Share the Season helps woman recover from medical emergency, 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.

She was working every shift she could find just trying to catch up.

In 2009, a medical emergency left this 48-year-old woman in the hospital and then off work for eight months.

“I had a tumor that burst,” she said. “I almost lost my life.”

Several rounds of chemo prevented her from working for several months.

“I fell behind on bills,” she wrote on her Share the Season application. “I returned to work with all the overtime I could work. It got overwhelming.”

Eventually, she filed for bankruptcy in 2014. Two years later, she is still working overtime, trying to get by.

A friend told her about Share the Season. She was familiar with the Salvation Army, but she didn’t think she would qualify.

“I didn’t know they had anything for people who did work,” she said.

When she was granted her request, she said she finally felt some relief.

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 $150,000.

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.

This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Share the Season helps woman recover from medical emergency, bills."