For more than 20 years, people with $5 to give or $50,000 have come together to support individuals and families in Manatee County who are just one step away from losing their homes. This effort, called Season of Sharing, is part of a 4-county campaign created by the Herald Tribune Media Group and our friends at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County (CFSC). Over time, its success has grown with matching support from The Patterson Foundation and with support from more people like you who recognize how fragile life can be for any of us.

On behalf of all of us at Manatee Community Foundation, we thank our donor advisors who contributed generously from their funds and those who supported our suggestions to give to Season of Sharing in other ways, including through IRA gifts or matching employer dollars.

We also thank the trustees of The Bishop Parker Foundation for making a generous $100,000 contribution to Season of Sharing through MCF.

This year, CFSC once again funded a reporter position at the Herald-Tribune to cover the wide-ranging stories of people who have been helped by Season of Sharing. They are people who have worked hard to make ends meet but through one event that often cascades into other challenging circumstances–such as losing a job, a medical crisis, or a transportation challenge–they simply need our help to avoid becoming homeless.

These stories have helped to humanize the struggles that many people face, and have also helped many of us realize how quickly our own lives can change and leave us vulnerable. Altogether, more than $4.4 million was gifted this year to support this region.

Perhaps more than any other year, with the skyrocketing cost of housing and many still catching up from two years of COVID-19 related hardships, we value the importance of keeping our neighbors in their homes.

Thank you, thank you, to everyone who gave. And thank you to the partners who created Season of Sharing years ago.