A 73-year-old man who knows the painful chill of a Christmas without heat has paid off 36 families’ overdue utility bills.
Mike Esmond, a resident of Pensacola, Florida, remembers a Christmas 36 years ago when he and his three daughters celebrated the holiday without heat and power, according to the Pensacola News Journal. “That year, we didn’t have any heat and it was the coldest recorded temperature [in December] Pensacola has ever had,” Esmond said. “We had icicles hanging off our windows.” Temperatures dipped to a chilling 9 degrees in the tropical state.
But he found success later in life with his pool company, Gulf Breeze Pools and Spa. This year, when he saw that his utility bill would be due on Dec. 26, he was transported back to that cold day and decided to help other residents facing a similar situation. He asked the city of Gulf Breeze for a list of all the households with utility accounts that were past due and at risk of having their power and heat turned off. The city produced a list of 36 families, totaling approximately $4,600 in overdue bills.
“I wanted to do something that I felt would really help people at Christmas time who are trying to decide between paying bills and maybe having something cut off, or buying presents for their family,” he said.
The city wanted to reward the man’s act of kindness and sent out Christmas cards to the lucky 36…
… Read More
Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.