Share the Season helps pay utility bills so family can pay rent

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.

Her boyfriend lost his job a few months ago.

And that has placed the mother of two small children behind on her bills.

She wrote on her Share the Season application that he’s “Having a hard time finding another one. … We have been applying … at multiple places and he has had several interviews, but no one has called him back for a permanent position.”

In the past, he has worked in construction and has detailed cars.

The family had fallen behind on their car payment, rent and utilities.

She heard about Share the Season from her mother and applied online.

“We didn’t have any money for Christmas presents for our kids,” she said.

They have two children: a girl and a boy, ages 4 and 1.

“We have drained our savings with paying rent and have had to skip paying our gas bill last month and will have to skip paying the electric and gas bills this month to be able to pay our rent to keep us in our home,” she wrote on her application. “It has been stressful with only having one income at our household.”

Share the Season has helped pay their utility bills and car payment, allowing them to pay next month’s rent.

“It did take a lot of stress off of me,” she said.

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

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.

This story was originally published December 18, 2016 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Share the Season helps pay utility bills so family can pay rent."