Community Shows Outpouring of Love for Neighbors in Need [WATCH]

A couple years ago, I met the most extraordinary woman who exemplified strength amidst an awful time in her life and instead of being bitter, she overcame and is now giving back to our community. This sweet and humble woman didn't want me to reveal her real name, so we'll call her 'Samantha.' There's no doubt that Samantha is everything that's right with our community.

Samantha and her husband 'Joe,' moved to Binghamton from out of the area and they had it all.  A beautiful house, nice cars, two kids, two incomes- theirs was what is generally considered to be a perfect life. But then, the bottom dropped out. Joe got sick and had to quit his job, which reduced their family to one income. Because Joe was so sick, Samantha had to travel back and forth to a hospital out of state for treatments and eventually, Samantha lost her job largely in part to Samantha having to take off to care for her husband and kids. She ran out of FMLA days and used up her vacation and sick time.

Samantha was forced to pick up a work-from-home job at a fraction of the pay she was used to getting because she needed the flexibility to be able to care for her family and work from anywhere, including Joe's hospital room. Samantha's family of four was relying solely on Samantha's work-from-home  income and it was tough. After the bills were paid, there was virtually nothing left and Samantha had to turn to CHOW for help to put food on the table.

For about a year, until Joe was well enough to go back to work, Samantha's family relied on CHOW for their meals. Today, Joe is well and has found a new full-time job. Samantha was able to leave her work-from -home job and has also found a new full-time job. Even though Samantha and Joe are back on their feet, they haven't forgotten the generosity of CHOW and the impact that the graciousness of others had on their lives. And so, Samantha, Joe, and their kids went grocery shopping together and made a huge food donation to CHOW. It was important to them to give back and to teach their kids that paying it forward when able is a crucial part of life.

Samantha told me that she never thought her life would turn out the way that it did, but nobody does. Nobody thinks the bottom will fall out. However, the way that a person handles things when it does says a lot about them, and knowing that there's an organization like CHOW to help when life's tough situations come along most definitely makes things easier.

To Samantha and her family, as well as all of the local businesses and individuals who donate to CHOW, thank you for caring enough about our neighbors, about complete strangers, that you would dig into your pocket to buy food or make a donation.

If you'd like to spread some love to neighbors in need, we invite you to stop by and see us at Food-A-Bago, our annual food drive for CHOW. We'll be set up in the parking lot of Weis Market, 1290 Upper Front Street in Binghamton from Monday, October 31st until Monday, November 7th. Someone will be inside our Food-A-Bago weekdays from 6am-8pm and on the weekend from 8am-8pm. We'll wrap up collecting food and monetary donations at 10am on Monday, November 7th.

These are just a few of the faces of people who have made a difference in our community by donating to CHOW.

If you'd like to learn more about Food-A-Bago, reach out to Don Morgan at (607) 772-8400.