LAUREL, Del. -- A Laurel woman funded a neighbor's gas oil bill this holiday season after seeing a Facebook asking for help earlier this week.
Joanna Johnston of Laurel, Del. was routinely scrolling through Facebook on Monday when a post caught her eye. In the post, Christi Robinson of Salisbury, Md. was asking for space heaters to keep both her and her pets - a dog and two cats - warm until she could pay her oil bill. Johnston was eager to help. She messaged Richardson and initially considered purchasing and sending a heater, but ultimately decided to extend her compassion even further.
"I was just like, you know what, screw it," says Johnston. "I'm just going to call the oil company and just pay off the bill."
Johnston called Cato Gas Oil & Propane of Salisbury, Md. and described her plan to an employee. In just a short time, Johnston was able to cover Richardson's more than $500 gas oil bill.
"[Johnston] gave me a confirmation and said, 'Call them, I paid your bill'," says Richardson. "I just broke down crying because never in my life has someone ever done something so generous for me."
The act has not only provided heat for Richardson and her pets this Christmas, but it also allowed her to travel to Virginia to spend the Christmas holiday with her family; it was a trip Richardson initially canceled to save money for the gas oil bill.
While Robinson and Cato Gas Oil & Propane have deemed Johnston as a Christmas "angel", Johnston says she's only following the Golden Rule.
"We always have to treat others as we would want to be treated because we can't survive in this world without each other," says Johnston.
It's an act of kindness that has brought Christmas joy and relief to a neighbor in the warmest way.