Support Elderly Neighbor Facing Power Cut

Our elderly neighbor has run into one of those situations where everything piles on at once. She will not have electricity come Feb. 5th. Because they can no longer afford their electric bill the electric company is turning off their supply. This will mean no heat, no ability to prepare food or store food in the fridge/freezer. Because of their age and medical conditions the lack of electricity could be seriously dangerous and potentially life threatening. We are asking for help to pay off their current electric bill so that they can keep the heat on for at least another month. In Maryland this is one of the coldest months of the year, there is currently snow on the ground. They need to be able to keep the heat on.

This neighbor has taken us under her wing like her own grandkids. Ever since we have moved in she has been warm and welcoming. She always has an eye out for us when we are home and traveling. We have developed a relationship where she drops off produce she grows from her garden and what we can't immediately eat we make into something that both she can eat and her husband can eat, he is going through a bunch of medical issues and his appetite is very limited.

Her husband, of nearly 40 years, has been having health problems for a while now and she has been doing her best to care for him, as well as the rest of her community and church. But, recently things have taken a turn for both him and for her. She had a severe cardiovascular event the other week and physically cannot take care of him herself anymore, which is weighing very heavily on her heart. While looking for a nursing home that could better take care of him they have racked up medical bills from introductory evaluations that have led nowhere. Finally, she consistently opens her heart and home to community members who have fallen on hard times and unfortunately the last one racked up a $700+ electricity bill (our normal bill, in these units in the winter, for comparison is ~$200) before leaving and refusing to pay. Our neighbor has until Feb. 5th to pay this bill, or they will cut her power.

We are not going to let our neighbor freeze. We understand many are strapped for cash right now and appreciate your willingness to donate and/or spread the word to help us get our neighbor through these challenging times. Thank you for your time in reading all of this.

*This is posted with permission. We asked our neighbor if she would be ok with us sharing this with our communities and while it is hard for her to ask for help she said she really does need help so it is ok.

***All funds raised will go directly to our neighbor***