Mom makes the most out of her Goodfellow gift cards

In the unrecorded history of the Goodfellow Fund there likely is nobody who got more from a couple of $50 J.C. Penney gift cards than the Cool Kids’ Mom.

“I went to the clearance section, and they had a lot of shirts there,” said Leann, a single mother of three. “I also had some coupons.”

Boy! Did she ever.

Leann got more than two dozen shirts to split between her birth son, Junior, 8, and adopted son, Armando, also 8, who joined the family before her marriage broke up. But she also found an outfit and four shirts for her 3-year-old daughter, Paulina, who wasn’t eligible for a gift card of her own.

This is the second time since the divorce that Leann has asked for help from the Goodfellow Fund. The first time was a couple of years ago, before she got a full-time job. She skipped last year, because she was doing OK, and asking for help isn’t on Leann’s list of things fondly thought-of. But as money got tighter and her ex refused to help, she decided boosting her children’s Christmas spirit was worth the effort.

“My kids are very sweet,” Leann said. “I call them my Cool Kids to keep them motivated.”

Improving the Cool Kids’ lives motivates Leann to improve her skill set so she can get a better job, and maybe be a Goodfellow herself, someday.

“I want to go back to school, but it’s difficult with my schedule and getting child care,” she said. “It’s been years since I was in school, and I don’t really know what I want to do. I just know I want to do something better for my kids.”

Be a jolly Goodfellow

Since 1912, the Star-Telegram’s Goodfellow Fund has provided practical gifts for schoolchildren. Join this tradition by sending a contribution to Goodfellows, Box 1870, Fort Worth, TX 76101. Or go online to goodfellowfund.org and make a secure credit card donation.

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Mom makes the most out of her Goodfellow gift cards."