Because we feel it is important that you know how and where your donations to Helping Hands are spent, here is what was done last week:

Electric                 8 families     $   3,034.44

Water                     6 families     $   3,091.59

Gas                         4 families     $      750.14

Rent                     28 families    $ 35,132.62

Total $ 42,008.79

A man gave us a sizeable check and asked that the money be used to help people with utility bills. He was concerned that we were spending so much money on rent that there were people who might go without electricity during the cold of the winter.

We gratefully took him up on his offer. A two-month electric bill was paid for a 49-year-old man who was out of work after quadruple bypass surgery. With no medical insurance and no sick leave, his wife’s $12/hour job paid the modest rent, but utilities had to go by the wayside until he could return to work.  We also advised the family of the local food pantries that could assist them with food.

A woman who had recently taken in her abandoned infant niece and toddler nephew was devastated when her husband was arrested. Without his income, and newly saddled with children requiring daycare while she worked, she was at a loss as to how to pay for it all. We paid her electric bill, thanks to this man’s donation, and used other funds for her rent. We also advised her on how to get assistance with childcare so that she could find a job to support them until her husband was released.

An 82-year-old woman was recently admitted to the hospital.  When her family was notified they discovered that the dementia from which she suffered had gotten much worse. She had simply quit paying her bills. The family was able to scrape enough money together to bring her gas and water current (she owns her home), however the electricity was disconnected…and it was a whopping 782! The famiy could not afford to come up with that much money, and the woman was due to be released from the hospital that day. We contacted the electric provider, pledged the amount owed, and the electricity was turned back on that day.

If anyone ever desires to make a donation to Helping Hands but has a desire for that money to be used in a certain way, please let us know!  We will be glad to use your money as you see fit.  Remember, we are your arms reaching out to those in need. And we are so grateful for you!