Chelsea Gordin desperately needed to sell her belongings as she had just received a large hydro bill that she could not pay. How Hope residents reacted shocked her, she said.
“I got a huge amount of people asking how much the bill was and my account number so they can help me pay the bill off,” she said. “I was hoping for a Christmas miracle and I got one!”
The mother of three and her partner have three children and recently bought a house that “needs more work than we can afford to fix.” She has to run two heaters to keep her three children warm.
The family has only one income, and received a $530.62 hydro bill. She received a letter dated Nov. 8, giving her 15 days to pay the amount owed.
“We’ve made payment arrangements but we aren’t able to keep everything up to date,” she said.
Two Mondays ago, Gordin called BC Hydro and confirmed that her bill had been paid off. Gordin also noted that she also received extra money that went towards her December bill.
“I guess the miracle would be how generous everybody was and how the Hope Pact and Melissa Cummings took the time out of their busy lives to get everybody in Hope to help a young mom of three kids with a hydro bill that I knew I couldn’t pay off in 15 days!” said Gordin.
Cummings helped spread the word by sharing it on various Facebook groups. Her motivations came from having personal experience and empathy for Gordin.
“I’m a single mother of six boys and was in that same situation last year right before Christmas,” said Cummings. “I owed just over $4,000 from two previous rentals that I couldn’t seem to ever catch up on (in ground heating is terrible) and BC Hydro gave me 15 days to pay the bill in full or they would cut off my services.
“I believe in good karma and to pay it forward whenever you can.”
Gordin also said Chris Hornby not only gave her $100 for her hydro bill, he also gave an extra $100 for groceries and also gave her children toys that she would not be able to afford.
Hornby said he was motivated by Edward Dostaler, better known as Fast Eddy, a man running across Canada to support Alzheimer’s and Breast Cancer research. Fast Eddy passed through Hope in mid-October.
“He just finished a run across Canada and back!” said Hornby. “It was so sad he came through our town and many others with no community support or coverage!”