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Azusa Family's Christmas Made Brighter By K-EARTH 101

AZUSA (CBSLA.com) — An Azusa family dealing with hard times received some holiday cheer from K-EARTH 101 on Thursday, giving them a Christmas they will never forget.

CBS2's Kai Goldberg went along as Gary Bryan and Lisa Stanley from the K-EARTH 101 Morning Show presented gifts, including a check for $13,000, to Michael and Daria Gale, who have lived with their three teenage daughters in a small room at the Arrow Inn motel in Azusa for more than a month.

The family fell on hard times when Michael Gale lost his job after suffering a stroke in June. Money got tight, and the family lost their home.

"We kept trying to pay, kept trying to pay, and we couldn't catch up," said Daria Gale. "So we signed it over."

On Thursday morning the family's luck changed.

A family friend had come to the rescue. She knew the family was in trouble, and that they were about to be kicked out of their motel room, so she wrote a letter nominating them for the radio station's "Knock...Knock it's a K-EARTH Christmas" contest. The Gales were selected as the winners, and Bryan, Stanley and their crew made the presentation on the air Thursday morning.

"They handed me this check, that number on it, and it's like, wow...wow," Daria Gale said. "Amazing."

Michael Gale hopes to be well enough to return to work sometime after the first of the year, Goldberg reported. Until then the family said they will continue to try hard to save some money to add to the cash prize they received Thursday, so they can put down a payment on an apartment.

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