A 74-year-old Florida man helps 114 families pay utility bills. He wants to share his earnings because he felt ashamed that his pool business is still doing well despite the pandemic.
PEOPLE previously reported that Michael Esmond paid almost $4,600 worth of gas and water bills for other families. Before Christmas of 2019, he helped 36 Gulf Breeze families to pay past their dues after having experienced the same struggles in 1983.
Did what he did a year ago
After Esmond saw Hurricane Sally pummeled Florida, he felt he needed to do what he did a year ago. According to CNN, the ongoing pandemic has impacted the economy of the state. Esmond, the owner of Gulf Breeze Pools and Spas, shared that this year was probably more meaningful for him than last year.
He noted that apart from the pandemic, which forced people out of work and instead stay at home, Hurricane Sally also hurt a lot of them. He also said that many people still have a lot of blue roofs in the area and most of which are covered with tarps.
Helped families facing disconnection
The city's utility billing supervisor, Joanne Oliver, told CNN that the spa owner donated $7,615.40 for the city. She said it has helped settle gas, water, and sewer services for 114 families who are facing disconnection services.
Esmond told the outlet that he wants to take a little bit of stress from the families around Christmas time. He said that he is doing his part to pay the people's bills because some could not even put food on the table.
The 74-year-old admitted to CNN that he was "almost ashamed" that his pool business is doing well amid the pandemic. He explained that he wanted to share what he has with the people because they have had a good year this year.
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Esmond was able to help three times as much as he helped in 2019. He told the outlet that he reached out to the city after learning that some could not even afford to pay for $100 on their bills.
Longer grace period for bills
According to CNN, Oliver said that Esmond has helped pay for bills that were due for over 60 days. She also noted that the city has already given a longer grace period for families to settle their bills.
The outlet also reported that the rest of the donations Esmond gave went to families who were over 30 days past their due dates. Oliver shared that there are still people who are generous to help others in need even though the city is going through a rough time.
The Gulf Breeze city will send out holiday greeting cards just like what it did a year ago The CNN reported that it would also notify the families that Esmond paid for their bills. Oliver said that they would be sending them out this week.
