As the holiday season begins, many are looking toward traditions of gift-giving with some trepidation. Across the country and certainly in Flathead Valley, people are cutting back on nonessentials and tightening their proverbial belts.

But available through Flathead Electric Cooperative is a gift that whole families can use.

The Gift of Light program, which has been running for several years, allows Flathead Electric customers to pay a portion or the entirety of a household’s electric bill for a month.

“It’s a unique gift for people,” said Wendy Ostrom Price, the cooperative’s communications director.

“It usually comes as a big surprise to find that their bill or a portion of it has been paid, especially around the holidays.”

While Ostrom Price said that only a handful of people participate in the program each year, Flathead Electric hopes it will grow and encourages people to consider such a gift.

While the program is used mostly by family members for other family members or for friends, on occasion someone will make an anonymous gift for a family in need. Ostrom Price told of a man who had read about a local family in need of assistance so he paid the family’s electric bill for the month without the family knowing the identity of their benefactor.

“Times are tough for folks right now,” Ostrom Price said. “Having heat and electricity are essential services. When you think about every time they turn on the light, the oven, the computer, they will think of how you did this for them. It’s a special gift.”

It’s a co-op principle, Ostrom Price said, to help create a sense of community. She said that many cooperatives around the nation have similar programs. This year, there has been an increase in families struggling to pay the bills and requesting payment plans, she said.

“We want to get the word out that this opportunity exists,” Ostrom Price said. “It’s really a big help. We need food, we need shelter, we need water, we need heat, we need light, the very basic necessities. These days most of us aren’t being too extravagant, we’re just trying to meet our needs. This is a need.”

To participate in the Gift of Light program, contact Flathead Electric Cooperative by calling 751-4483 and ask to donate to the program or to a specific household.

The cooperative will send a certificate to the recipient acknowledging the gift, or make a payment arrangement. The gift can be given anonymously.