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By GEOFF FOX, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 24, 2007

ZEPHYRHILLS - Carla and Robert Burgess faced a hard decision: They could either pay for Robert's chemotherapy and radiation treatments, or pay the rent.

If not for their utility company, the Burgesses said they and their son, Robert, 11, might have been celebrating Christmas on the street this year.

Carla Burgess said she was stiff-armed everywhere she turned for help, until an American Cancer Society worker told her about Operation Round-Up, a program offered through Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative.

Since the program began in 1994, the cooperative has disbursed more than $2.24 million to families who have suffered catastrophic events and need financial help.

The Burgesses qualified.
Robert Burgess was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June. On his second day of radiation treatment he suffered a stroke. He had been unable to work since a forklift accident 11 years ago.

The Burgesses' son suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder related to autism.

Carla Burgess doesn't work a regular job so she can care for her husband and son, but she handles almost all of the home repairs. She has built a wheelchair-accessible porch onto the front of their large mobile home and is making major renovations to a bathroom.

"We live on Social Security, but we make it," she said. "I'm the queen of getting things as cheaply as possible. Every piece of furniture in my house that you see was given to me."

Because of costly co-payments for Robert Burgess' cancer treatments, the family fell behind in their rent. Through the program, they received $3,000 and will be able to stay in the home.

Families Appreciate 'Miracles'

David Lambert, the cooperative's manager of member relations, and his secretary, Jeannie Rayborn, recently visited the family, who live north of State Road 54 in Zephyrhills.

"Without you, we would have been homeless," Carla Burgess told them.

Although he was in some discomfort, Robert Burgess got out of bed to greet them.

"Anybody who says there isn't a God, I don't know," he said. "I've seen too many miracles in my life."

Lambert and Rayborn encounter families like the Burgesses every week. Not everyone qualifies for assistance through the program.

"There has to be a catastrophic event, through no fault of your own," Lambert said. "You can't just get behind on your mortgage. And, there has to be a resolution to your problem. With the help we give you, you have to be self-sustaining after that."

There also is an extensive application process. The cooperative has to verify an applicant's references and financial information, and corroborate any illnesses or injuries.

The cooperative's members can participate in the program by having their energy bills rounded up to the nearest dollar; the average contribution is about 49 cents a month.

Thanks to the program's participants, Hilda Gira, who lives in a mobile home south of S.R. 54 in Zephyrhills, received $5,200 to replace the deteriorating particleboard flooring that practically transformed her home into a large booby trap.

Although Gira knew precisely where to step before the repairs were made, her 18-year-old grandson did not.

"He fell right through the floor in the bathroom," she said.

Rayborn said that when she visited Gira's home, she could feel the floor give when she walked on it.

Thanks to the cooperative, Gira said she will be able to enjoy her family's company for Christmas this year. She said she never had heard of Operation Round-Up until she found information about the program in one of her bills.

Providing A Little Bit Of Help

In Hudson, Donna Forrest, whose husband, Richard, died on July 4, might have been at a homeless shelter on Christmas if not for the program.

The couple had moved to the area five years ago from Maine. Forrest's financial woes began shortly after her husband's death. She was behind on the mortgage payments on her mobile home off New York Avenue and lost her car.

Forrest was nearing her wit's end.

"I would have just up and left," she said. "They wouldn't take a partial payment, or just a little from each paycheck. I didn't even know about Operation Round-Up until I saw a brochure about it in the bill. Everywhere else I'd go, they'd stomp on you."

It didn't have to be.

"She hit a speed bump in life - through no fault of her own," Lambert said. "She just needed a little bit of help."

OPERATION ROUND-UP

For information about Operation Round-Up and other programs offered by Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, visit www.wrec.net.

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 948-4217 or gfox@tampatrib.com.

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