How Season to Share Works
All Season to Share donations go to helping nominees via their nominating agencies. Once the nominees’ needs are met, the charitable agencies can use the funds to assist other needy families within their agencies. Season to Share funds are not to be used by the agencies for administrative purposes.
The reader-donated funds are managed and distributed to the agencies by the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin counties, our area’s pillar of philanthropic leadership for more than 50 years.
This year’s nominees are:
Fifteen-year-old Ella Frank has Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development but not Ella’s awareness of her surroundings. She can communicate through eye gaze, but is reliant on her parents, Tim and Amy, for her daily care from getting her in and out of bed to dressing and feeding her. While they’ve gotten some relief in covering some medical costs, Tim Frank recently lost his job, and the wheelchair-accessible van they use daily to get Ella to and from therapists and specialists from here to Miami is more than a decade old and beginning to break down. The Franks are asking for $65,000-$75,000 to purchase and convert a wheelchair-accessible van.
Marisol Gomez, 43, a longtime resident of Palm Beach County who works in construction, was severely injured in an accident and then diagnosed with a rare and potentially fatal autoimmune disease only a few months after getting her first taste of stability. Escaping domestic violence, the mother of four was nearly homeless when she got some shelter through Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches. Seeking treatment after the accident, she’s been left with $13,000 in medical bills. And now the two cars she owns are inoperable. Donations could help her get ahead of the bills. Repairs or a car donation could get her back on the road to a less stressful life and a new, orthopedic bed could mean an escape from the relentless pain.
Two-year-old Milan was born with Down syndrome. He’s already had to undergo tonsil and ear surgery and each week brings multiple sessions of physical therapy, speech therapy and food therapy. He makes regular visits to a cardiologist. Parents Yeyme De Leon Escalante and Milton Ortiz say Milan is a ‘gift from god,’ he’s also the little one they must regularly battle for. Ortiz works renovating homes and installing drywall, but the work is not steady. De Leon spends her days caring for Milan at home, shuttling him to therapy sessions and medical appointments. As the family navigates a difficult job market and Milan’s many medical needs, the family is asking for $14,400 in housing support to cover a year of rent in a clean, safe home for him to grow up in, $1,000 for toys and clothes targeted to his developmental needs, and $960 to support his prolonged need for diapers.
Ashaki Sypher is a single mom caring for 16-year-old daughter Brooklyn, who was born with a brain injury and suffers multiple other medical challenges that prevent her from walking, talking, or living without assistance. Although Sypher works full time and has insurance, she falls through the cracks when it comes to aid programs and doesn’t make enough to cover all of her daughter’s medical costs. Roughly $40,000 in donations would cover rent for a year and help Sypher catch up on bills, giving the mother an opportunity to create a small savings she could build on for herself and her daughter.
Robert Hall, 16, is the primary caretaker for his 63-year-old grandmother, Beverly Shaw. The home they share is in need of substantial repair, including a new kitchen, light fixture and electrical repair, mold removal, an adjustable bed, bedding and a bathroom with safety rails for Shaw. Hall needs a bed, bedding, clothes and shoes for school and basketball. Shaw needs a lightweight wheelchair and a motorized scooter to Hall can help her get around.
Dilsia Glover is an upbeat 81-year-old retiree and former foster mom with a big heart and history of helping others. But the home she shared freely is in need of repair. The roof caved in during a storm about three years ago and remains tarped. Her washing machine, dryer, stove and doors are also broken. Her refrigerator is on its last legs. Glover lives on a fixed income from Social Security that covers her basics, but the repairs needed to keep her in her home stretch are beyond her budget.
Elizabeth Curiel-Hernandez has been working since she was 16. Now, at 34, she is raising three children on her own while juggling full-time and part-time jobs, often putting in 18-hour days. She is now the sole provider for her family after leaving a mentally and physically abusive marriage. She and her children, who witnessed some of the abuse, are attending therapy to work through the trauma. In addition to struggling to pay the bills, a recent car crash drained her savings. Elizabeth is seeking short-term financial assistance to cover her mortgage and car payments for the next three to six months. Eventually, she hopes to have enough money to take her kids to Disney World, but for now, she wants more time to spend with them.
After suffering a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body, Jose Estrada is on the verge of homelessness and needs a safe place to live, said The Glades Initiative, the nonprofit that is helping provide for him. Estrada lives in a tool shed he helped build years ago in the back of an RV park because he’s not been able to afford rent. The shed in Belle Glade is without electricity and water. The Glades Initiative said is seeking $13,000, enough money to cover a year of rent. They are also asking for $6,000 to secure transportation that can reliably take him to his medical appointments to treat the underlying conditions from the stroke that left him without strength on the left side of his body and unable to walk without a cane.
All donations posted here will be divided equally amongst all nominees.
The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, in partnership with the Palm Beach Post, will discern where the most need is and will allocate donations accordingly.
