Tina Beecher-Johnston reached out to accept the check and paused, emotions getting the better of her.

Vivian L. LaCamera reached with her other hand -- the one not holding the $1,000 check -- to reassure Ms. Beecher-Johnston.

"I'm choked up," Ms. Beecher-Johnston, of Greenville, said Monday.

In the 15 years since she co-founded Sharing and Caring for Persons in Need of Mercer County, Ms. LaCamera, the organization's president, has had many such moments. The group has given away about $100,000 to families who have members in need of major organ transplants, or have disabilities in which some components of their care are not covered by insurance.

Ms. Beecher-Johnston is the mother of 11-year-old Daniel Johnston, who has cerebral palsy and other disabilities. The unemployed mortgage broker said she is near the end of her unemployment insurance payments, but needs to find a new place to live.