35
Sending
Out An
SOS…
WORDS: Ashley Brown, President & CEO Women’s Resource Center
We live in a beautiful place and
our region includes some of the
most afuent areas, but the reality is
hundreds of hard-working families are
living paycheck to paycheck. Earning
enough money to cover all the expenses
every month is a real issue for many
families in Manatee County and a small
emergency can quickly become a major
nancial crisis.
There is a bright side and it is this: every
day in our community, there are people,
companies, foundations, and agencies
focusing on tough questions such as
affordable housing, quality child care,
and livable wages. However, many of the
people who might benet from services
and resources are not aware they exist
and are available to them.
One amazing resource in our community
is the Season of Sharing Fund. What is
the Season of Sharing Fund? Season
of Sharing (SOS) helps individuals and
families who reside in Manatee, Sarasota,
Charlotte, and DeSoto counties who are
working but have an unanticipated event
that takes their budget off track.
These are hard-working people who
are living paycheck to paycheck but an
event like a car breakdown or an illness
leaves them struggling to pay all of their
expenses. Their options are not great. Do
they get behind on rent, or use a payday
lending service that costs them too much
and end up in a worse nancial position?
That is where SOS can help. These funds
can be used for rental assistance, utility
bills, child care, transportation, and other
expenses associated with helping stay
on track.
How can someone access Season
of Sharing funds? It is important to
understand there is a process to receive
funds from Season of Sharing. Individuals
meet with a caseworker at a social
service agency to apply for the funds.
There is some paperwork to ll out and
you must be able to provide paystubs
or proof of income. The monies are
paid directly to the services provider i.e.
landlord, car repair, child care facility, etc.
The process is not immediate and can
take several days to a couple of weeks
depending on the circumstances.
In Manatee County the agencies that
have Season of Sharing funding are
Turning Points, https://tpmanatee.org/ 941-
747-1509 or Step Up Suncoast, https://
stepupsuncoast.org/ 941-757-1166.
Not sure which agency matches your
needs? United Way 2-1-1 assists potential
clients in nding an appropriate agency.
https://www.unitedway.org/our-impact/
featured-programs/2-1-1#.
It is important to know who is behind
Season of Sharing and where the money
comes from. This is a philanthropic
fund that was created 18 years ago by
the Herald-Tribune Media Group and
the Community Foundation of Sarasota
County. Season of Sharing has raised
and distributed more than $21 million
since its inception.
The par tnership is enhanced by
a collaboration of media partners;
signicant matching dollars from The
Patterson Foundation, the William G.
and Marie Selby Foundation, and other
funders. and donors who provide both
large and small contributions. For more
information, you can visit the Community
Foundation of Sarasota’s website https://
www.cfsarasota.org/community-impact/
community-care/season-of-sharing.
We want to end with a wonderful example
of how Season of Sharing was used in
our community. In 2018, our coastal
areas had a terrible time with red tide.
The hotels, rentals, and restaurants were
really suffered during this time. There were
thousands of service workers who lost their
jobs OR were making a fraction of their
normal wages. SOS stepped in to help
these workers stay on track nancially.
Please keep Season of Sharing in mind
if you or someone you know has an
unexpected expense and could use a
little support. Another great place for
people to connect with when unexpected
issues arise is the Women’s Resource
Center. You can speak with a resource
advisor to help connect you with services
either at WRC or in our community:
941-256-9721 or www.mywrc.org.
/www.mywrc.org