2022 Season to Share
Season to Share, the Post’s annual charity campaign, enters its 27th year. Since its founding in 1995, the nonprofit effort has raised more than $16 million for needy families and individuals in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.
All donations go to the Post’s nominees and their nominating agencies. Once the nominees’ needs are met, the agencies can help other needy families. Season to Share funds are not used by the agencies for administrative purposes. The reader-donated funds are managed and distributed to the agencies by the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, a respected philanthropic presence in the county for nearly 50 years.
Related: Season to Share: Devastated by a genetic disorder, family of 6 faces eviction
Thanks to generous Palm Beach Post readers, families have been fed, pantries stocked, new homes acquired and medical needs fulfilled through the Season to Share drive. Last year alone, the project raised $718,818.
Please contact Keely Gideon-Taylor if you have any questions – keely.gideon-taylor@localiq.com
Here are the 2022 Season to Share nominees:
Nominee: Nelson Torres - Devastated by a genetic disorder, family of 6 faces eviction
On the worst days, when the tumors that plague his wife and two of their kids throw life off balance in painful and frightening ways, Nelson Torres focuses on love.
He remembers the day at the park in Yonkers nearly 15 years ago when he met Raysa Medina, the spunky, sweet woman who would transform his world within days. He remembers how she came up to him as he was chatting with her brother and said, “I don’t know you, but hi!” and how things “pretty much went from there.”
How is it that he never noticed his childhood friend had such a cool sister? He marvels at the thought still today as Raysa, five brain surgeries later, battles a rare genetic disorder that had just started to take hold of her nervous system when they met.
Today, their love story is the raft they cling to as the disease that killed Raysa’s mother and two sisters devastates their household. All this while a mountain of packed boxes rises in the living room.
Despite attempts to pay back rent, Nelson and Raysa are facing eviction at the end of November, a blow that comes as their medical struggles multiply.
► READ NELSON TORRES'S FULL STORY HERE.
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NELSON TORRES' WISH
Nelson Torres and his family are waging two battles: one against a rare and devastating illness, the other against housing insecurity. The 36-year-ol, father who works as a veterinary technician to support his family of six, is struggling to find housing as his wife and two of their children suffer from neurofibromatosis type 2, a condition that produces tumors in the nervous system and requires repeated surgeries to remove them. Apart from facing eviction, the family has no car to get them to medical appointments. They desperately need a place to live and a reliable vehicle. They also could use gift cards for groceries, supplies and children’s clothing for the family.
Nominated by: Boys Town South Florida, West Palm Beach
Nominee: Kimberly Simon - Young mother scraping to finish high school, needs help for son's future
Kimberly Simon knows first hand that raising a child can take a village.
She was a child herself, 14 years old, working on her middle school's yearbook, on the spring day her pediatrician confirmed that she was pregnant.
She had tried to oversleep that day, to get out of the appointment her mother insisted she keep.
“I didn’t need the judgment,” said Simon, who now is 18.
She knew she had disappointed her mother badly.
But she also knew what she wanted to do. She had grown up fast, her father not around, her mother working hard to take care of the family. They moved often, sometimes because they faced eviction.
Now, in her high school senior year, Simon's on the verge of starting a future for herself and her young son. She doesn't want him to grow up as she did, staying in homes only a few months at a time before having to move again.
Simon has the determination but not the money or the tools to train for a job that will support them both and keep them in one place without constantly being in need.
READ KIMBERLY SIMON'S FULL STORY HERE.
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KIMBERLY SIMON'S WISH
Kimberly Simon wants to finish school, prepare for a career and prove to her son that anything important is possible. Her needs include financial assistance to enroll in a program to become a paramedic, a computer or tablet with a Wi-Fi card for school work, clothes and shoes for her and for her son, and gift cards to Publix or Wal-Mart for hygiene products, food and other basic needs.
Nominated by: Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County
Nominee: Jose Ortega - Belle Glade man lost his health, savings, phone. Is home next?
In 2014, Jose Ortega clocked into work at 4 a.m. at a local bodega, where he unloaded trucks and replenished shelves, as he’d done six days a week for 31 years.
Then a pile of concrete fell on his back. The workplace injury left him with four herniated disks.
“Ever since then, I was no good,” the 62-year-old said in Spanish. Tears pooled in his eyes as he tightened the grip on his wooden cane. "My life has changed a lot.”
Today, Jose can’t work; he can’t stand or sit for long periods without triggering pain that causes him to faint.
His claim for Social Security disability payments has been denied four times.
He can’t afford to call his family in Mexico. His cellphone plan ran out months ago and the government-issued phone doesn't work anymore. It's been two months since he last spoke to his wife and six children.
On top of it all, he can’t even say he has a place to live. The mobile-home where he’s taken shelter for the past two years is on the verge of demolition. The landlord shut off water and electricity two months ago when Jose couldn’t pay his rent.
“All I do is think,” said Jose sobbing. “What am I going to eat tomorrow?"
READ JOSE ORTEGA'S FULL STORY HERE.
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JOSE ORTEGA'S WISH
Beset by medical problems after 31 years working in Belle Glade bodegas and warehouses and on the verge of homelessness, Jose Ortega needs a place to live most of all, said The Glades Initiative, the nonprofit that is helping to provide for him. The mobile home he's been in for two years is in terrible shape and because he's not been able to afford rent, the mobile home on the edge of the city is without electricity and water. He also needs to secure transportation that can reliably take him to his medical appointments as he deals with back injuries that leave him unable to sit or stand for long periods.His living conditions would improve greatly by “securing an affordable and decent housing where he could live with dignity and respect,” The Glades Initiative said on his behalf. It is seeking between $7,200 and $9,000, enough money to cover six months of rent. He also needs to secure transportation that can reliably take him to his medical appointments as he deals with back injuries that leave him unable to sit or stand for long periods.
Nominated by: The Glades Initiative
Nominee: Liam Cruz - Mom needs wheelchair, medical van for son with rare, often fatal brain disorder
Nicole Bolufé was on the highway with her then 3-year-old son Liam Cruz when she received the call.
When Liam was born, doctors told her he suffered from cerebral palsy. But Nicole wanted to know more. After years of inquiry and derailed efforts to learn more, a geneticist was finally on the line.
“I got the results,” the geneticist said to her. “Where are you?”
“I’m on the road,” she said.
He advised her to call when she got home. But Nicole couldn’t wait and insisted on hearing the news right away.
“Liam has a rare genetic disorder.” So rare, the geneticist told her, “I’ve never heard of it before.”
Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome. It’s a brain development disorder that causes severe intellectual disability and movement problems. It’s also known as MTC8 Deficiency.
As if that wasn’t bad enough news, the geneticist also said, “It’s worse than cerebral palsy. They don't have a long lifespan at all, and they regress.”
READ LIAM CRUZ'S FULL STORY HERE.
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LIAM CRUZ'S WISH
Though Liam turned 11 in July, his needs are still greater than that of a newborn. He is prone to seizures, respiratory and cardiac failure and has needed a ventilator in the past. He is fed through a port in his stomach. Nicole would welcome a better wheelchair and van outfitted to his specific needs to keep him active, a key to his longevity.She would also need equipment to help her move him in and out of the van. Nicole also would like to turn her garage into a therapy room, for which she'd need a long platform swing, an adaptive tricycle, a lift and walking aid. (products she provided are hyperlinked...)
Nominating agency: Clinics Can Help, West Palm Beach
Nominee: DeGraff Jean - Man blinded by glaucoma prays for an independent life for himself and his wife
Life for DeGraff Jean has not been the same since 2010.
While at work for the Haitian Soccer Federation one January afternoon, DeGraff was in the process of gathering uniforms, cleats and other equipment for the women's soccer team when the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince. The two-story office building collapsed around him. He called out to Jesus. He wasn’t rescued until the next day, when a crew broke through the ceiling and pulled him out. Some others in the building didn't make it.
Having lost his home, he spent weeks sleeping on the street underneath a tree. His wife, who at the time had been visiting family in the U.S., didn't know if DeGraff was one of the 220,000 people who had died in the destruction. A month passed before he finally heard from her, and he boarded a plane in the Dominican Republic to join her.
DeGraff, 62, and his wife Guirlene, 59, have been together for almost 40 years. They met at school in a small oceanside town called Saint-Marc. He trained to be a plumber, and she was a seamstress.
Things were normal. Until they weren’t.
READ DEGRAFF JEAN'S FULL STORY HERE.
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DEGRAFF JEAN'S WISH
DeGraff Jean wants more than anything independence for himself and his wife. To achieve this, he is seeking support for housing with one bedroom that is either on the first floor or wheelchair accessible. As DeGraff continues to improve his chances of getting a job, the couple needs help covering the basics including, ’ utilities, furniture, toiletries and other household items like sheets, towels and dishware. Additionally, the couple will need help covering medication costs. They would welcome help with transportation through Palm Tran Connection tickets. Finally, DeGraff could use a laptop and smartphone with accessibility capability and a phone plan for one year.
Nominated by: Lighthouse for the Blind of the Palm Beaches
Nominee: Barbara Hutchison - "Everything went wrong at once" for 53-year-old former grocery clerk
Barbara Hutchison has never been lower.
“I live in a homeless shelter. I have kidney stones. I gave up my two cats. I can hardly move my elbows with this rheumatoid arthritis. I can’t pay for my car. I need an operation on my left foot. My friend Tanisha died,” says the slight 53-year-old, who is also living under a deadline to move out of that shelter.
Still, Barbara manages a smile when she talks about fulfilling her lifelong dream: helping people with learning disabilities.
“Being able to help others would change my life,” said Barbara, who works about 25 hours a week as a cashier at The Arc, a county-wide, non-profit agency that provides programming for children and adults with disabilities.
But in recent years, Barbara has become the one who needs help — a position she struggles with after overcoming so many challenges on her own.
READ BARBARA HUTCHISON'S FULL STORY HERE.
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BARBARA HUTCHISON'S WISH
After putting in six years at Publix, Barbara Hutchison lost her job during the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations will help her pay for medical care including operations on her elbows and left foot, as well as removal of kidney stones on her left side. She needs bipolar medications. She also needs to pay for first, last and security deposits to move into an apartment. Financial assistance is needed to pay for her car and auto insurance, as well as food and utilities while she recovers from medical procedures.
Nominated by: The Arc of Palm Beach County, Riviera Beach
Nominee: Liana Curbelo - Stricken with cancer, single mother fears her family may lose their West Palm Beach home
With the diagnosis of Stage 3 breast cancer, Liana Curbelo has put her job and dreams on hold. She fears her family will lose the month-to-month apartment they rent in West Palm Beach, and she worries her 3-year-old daughter will be robbed of a normal childhood.
But Liana has always smiled in the face of misfortune. Even now, she finds reasons to be grateful.
She survived childhood poverty, created a life in America, escaped an abusive relationship and single-handedly provided for her mother and daughter.
And she is certain that with a little help, she can best her latest challenge.
Liana's life began in Amarillas, Cuba. Her father left before she was born, and her mother's health left her unable to work. Liana and her great-grandfather had nearly nothing after an economic collapse hit the country in 1991. Buying soap, cooking oil and other everyday items — if they could find any — drained their monthly savings.
Liana remembers a time when she had only an egg to eat for supper, while her great-grandfather had a bit of pork. He passed the meat to her and insisted she take his share.
“He wanted the best always for me,” Liana said.
When prostate cancer took her great-grandfather's life, 7-year-old Liana became the head of her household.
READ LIANA CURBELO'S FULL STORY HERE.
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LIANA CURBELO'S WISH
Since her diagnosis with Stage 3 breast cancer, Liana Curbello's top priority has been ensuring her daughter and mother have a stable home. Without a helping hand, the mother fears Sky may spend her childhood in motels. Her family needs $65,000 to purchase a manufactured home. Liana could also use help to buy her daughter gifts for Christmas. And with medical bills piling up, Liana is struggling to handle her car payments, electricity bills and other everyday expenses.
Nominating agency: Families First of Palm Beach County.
Nominee: Catherine and Otis Hall - Grandparents in their 70s caring for 4 grandkids in cramped house where everything's broken
Life already was plenty challenging for Catherine and Otis Hall, with their daughter, her disabled husband and four grandchildren crowded into the septuagenarian couple’s three-bedroom home.
Then, one day about a year ago, their 35-year-old daughter started complaining that she felt sick. It was the beginning of a series of heart attacks that left her permanently incapacitated in a hospital bed.
With their daughter unable to walk or speak and their daughter’s husband recovering in their home from a stroke of his own, it has fallen to Catherine and Otis to parent their four young grandchildren, who range in age from 1 to 9. And to do so in a deteriorating house.
Their Boynton Beach home is cheery, hot and crowded. The hub is a living room where a crib competes for space with sofas, shelves and a coffee table, while a box fan whirs in the open doorway.
READ CATHERINE AND OTIS HALL'S FULL STORY HERE.
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CATHERINE AND OTIS HALL'S WISH
The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County estimates the Halls need $45,000 in donations to create a suitable home environment for their four grandchildren. That includes money for a new air-conditioning system, plumbing work to fix a leaking shower, new furniture and household appliances. The famil also needs new clothes, computers and Christmas toys for the children, and a truck for Otis Hall to transport his landscaping equipment.
Nominated by: Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County
Nominee: Roman Burnette - For a struggling mom, new van for boy with Down syndrome would be godsend
It isn't just the pain any parent feels when their child is confused or afraid or hurt.
It isn't just the loneliness of sequestering yourself from the world so you can make sure your child remains a part of it.
No, it's not just those things that grip Michelle Thivierge.
It's all of those things and one more — fear.
Fear that, somehow, she isn't doing enough. Fear that at any moment, when she's tired or distracted or asleep, the breathing problems that haunt her 5-year old-son, Roman Burnette, will overwhelm him.
It's the fear that makes Michelle, a 48-year-old former bartender, weep when she ponders it. That fear — as much as Roman's long list of serious medical conditions — robs her of sleep in those few moments she might overwise give in to it.
"You just have to live with the thought of, 'What if something happens?'" she said. "That's my biggest fear."
READ ROMAN BURNETTE'S FULL STORY HERE.
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ROMAN BURNETTE'S WISH
Roman Burnette, now 5, was born with multiple medical conditions, including Down syndrome as well as heart and lung problems. He had to be hospitalized for the majority of the first three years of his life, and he is unable to walk, talk, eat, feed or care for himself. His mother, Michelle Trivierge, is Roman's primary caregiver. A larger van with a lift and a swivel would allow Michelle to more easily transport Roman to his medical appointments and occasionally get him to some of his favorite places. More financial assistance would enable her to pay for household goods, food, cleaning supplies, diapers for Roman, therapy, clothing, gas, shoes and medical supplies. And that financial assistance would also enable Michelle to get more in-home nursing help.
Nominating agency: Chasing A Dream Foundation, Jupiter
Nominee: Manuel De La Cruz - Losing 2 fingers in farm accident, father of 5 with special needs child struggles to provide
Manuel De La Cruz remembers the accident in flashes.
He was carefully guiding a sod-cutting machine in the fields around South Bay when a flash of indescribable pain shot up his right arm. His eyes darted down.
The pointer finger on his right hand was gone.
Manuel's first thought wasn't about the pain, the future or the unbearable sun that pressed down on him. It was about his daughter, Anahi.
It was her 15th birthday.
"She was all I could think of," he said. "She's my little girl."
Manuel is a father of five, but Anahi has long needed particular care and attention. Born with Down syndrome, she spent most of her childhood using a feeding tube.
Now 17, she still has trouble feeding herself. Walking without falling or hurting herself is also difficult.
But she shares a special bond with her father. Their moods often mirror each other. He finds joy in seeing her get excited about new things and cooking with him. When he's sad, she cries in sympathy and buries him in hugs.
She relies on him.
The accident was the first of many stumbling blocks challenging Manuel's ability to take care of his family and give Anahi the care she needs.
READ MANUEL DE LA CRUZ'S FULL STORY HERE.
Read the full Spanish version of Manuel De La Cruz's story here.
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MANUEL DE LA CRUZ'S WISH
Manuel De La Cruz needs resources to provide a stable home for his family that is equipped to accommodate Anahi's limited mobility. He needs a reliable vehicle to travel to and from work and to expand his food truck business. Donations for rent and furniture will help the the Farmworkers Coordinating Council secure a place where the De La Cruz family can heal and spend time together.
Nominating agency: Farmworkers Coordinating Council
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Charity: Palm Beach Post Season to Share helps local families in need
