Utility Company Gives Elderly Senior A List Of 114 People So That He Can Pay Their Gas Bill

Mike Esmond is a caring great-grandfather from Gulf Breeze, Florida, who is doing everything he can to give back to the community.

Mike, who is in his 70s, is the founder of a successful business called Gulf Breeze Pools & Spas. These last couple of years, he has made it his personal mission to pay off the gas bills of many people in his neighborhood at Christmas time.

“I wanted to do something that I felt would really help people at Christmas time who are trying to decide between paying bills and maybe having something cut off, or buying presents for their family,” Mike said of his kind gesture .

Many of us don’t think twice about paying off our utility bills, but for others, money can be especially tight around Christmas time.

This year in particular has caused lots of people to lose their jobs due to the CODIV19 pandemic, leaving people in difficult financial situations.

Mike understands completely what it feels like to have past-due utility bills, and now that he’s in a position to help others, he came up with a great way to do so.

“When I got my utility bill this month, I noticed that it said the cutoff date was Dec. 26, so I went to the city and asked how many people were going to have their gas or water shut off before Christmas,” Mike explained, “so they gave me the numbers and I paid them.”

“The pandemic, I know, has a lot of people out of work. … They’ve closed up, they’ve laid people off. So this year, I really felt like I really needed to do something.”

Mike first began his kind gesture back in Christmas 2019. He paid for 36 family’s utility bills which cost around $4,600.

This year, it’s clear to see just what effect the pandemic has had. There was a total of 114 families who couldn’t afford to pay their utility bills, and Mike selflessly paid out $7,600.

It’s a lot of money to pay, but Mike feels satisfaction in knowing that he is taking the financial stress away from many families this Christmas.

Mike said his motive is simply “to make things a little less stressful and make people a little happier in my community. I’ve heard over and over again in many messages how people, when they read this or heard about it, they cry happily.”

“You can imagine,” Mike said, “people this time of the year that know they’re behind on their bills, when they get this envelope and when they open it up, it’s a Christmas card from the City of Gulf Breeze telling them that Gulf Breeze Pools has paid your utility bill, and that’s one less stressful thing that you have to worry about.”

Lots of people began to hear about Mike’s caring gesture and offered to get involved themselves. Mike has had people call him from California, Chicago, Tampa, asking to send some money.

But in response, the great-grandfather suggested that they spread the love to their own communities instead.

“It’s something I can see that we could really pass on and make Christmases better for people in the future,” Mike concluded.

Mike’s amazing act of kindness certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed, and we’re so thankful that there are caring people like him in the world. Watch the video below to hear his full interview.

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Source: Pensacola News Journal , The Uplift