Mom going back to school says help from Goodfellows ‘makes big difference’
Katoya and her significant other were already living paycheck-to-paycheck, and then she suddenly found herself single again after having her last child in 2023.
“I was suddenly doing everything on my own,” she said. “While I was pregnant, I decided to start going back to school so I could finally build some kind of stability for my kids. That was two years ago, and now I’m getting ready to graduate with my associate’s degree in December.”
While that decision indicates a positive future for herself and her five children, she is still financially challenged as she moves toward that goal.
“Trying to keep my grades up while being a mom of five has been exhausting. I don’t really have babysitter help, so I’ve always had to work jobs that fit within school hours,” she said. “No overtime, no weekends, no late shifts. Even if I wanted the extra hours, I had no one to watch my kids outside of school and day care hours.
“I’m working on getting my finances together and trying to climb out of this hole I’ve been in. But I’m confident that things are going to get better, especially with a little help right now.”
The Goodfellow Fund is providing such help, just as they have done for more than 100 years. The Star-Telegram charity is providing children from families in need with $100 gift cards to Old Navy.
“They’re the reason I keep going, even when things get overwhelming,” Katoya said of her children. “Even just being able to get clothes for my kids would be a relief. They grow so fast, and it feels like I’m constantly replacing clothes and shoes.
“I’m working hard to build a better life for them, and support like this makes a big difference.”
About the Goodfellow Fund
The story on the Goodfellow website describes its beginning as an offshoot of the first newspaper charity drive in the United States, started by the Chicago Tribune on Dec. 10, 1909. A Chicago city attorney wrote a letter challenging his friends to donate the money they would have spent on holiday partying to charity.
A couple of years later, the Advertising Club of Fort Worth staged the first local Goodfellow campaign. On the day after Thanksgiving in 1912, Publisher Amon G. Carter brought the tradition to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
To donate online and find out more, visit goodfellowfundfw.com/donate. To donate with a check, send checks made out to the Goodfellow Fund to P.O. Box 149, Fort Worth, TX, 76101.
This story was originally published December 7, 2025 at 5:00 AM.