After divorce, job loss, mom turns to Goodfellow Fund for Chrismas help

Maribel came back to the Goodfellow Fund for help after 15 years.

“I used it when my 16-year-old was little,” she said. “I’m grateful to everyone who gives to it.”

Three kids later, while her oldest daughter and her only son are aged out of qualifying, Maribel realized that Goodfellows was still an option for her 9- and 11-year-old girls when she started looking for ways to overcome what she hopes is a temporary financial setback.

She had a good job until 15 months ago, when a divorce threw her family for a loop.

“That unbalanced everyone’s life,” Maribel said. “We’re trying to get back onto it and it’s coming slowly. I worked for [a local school district] 12 years before I quit because of all the stuff I was going through. I won’t give up until I get back on with [the district].”

Getting her kids back into school this year with the supplies, uniforms and shoes they had to have left nothing in the kitty for Christmas gifts — like clothes for play or just hanging with friends. Typically, those come from yard sales and thrift stores. But come Christmas, Maribel just wants something more special for them.

And a pair of $50 J.C. Penney gift cards designated for clothes and shoes only were just what Santa ordered. The clothes and shoes she got will be wrapped and put under a tree until Christmas morning.

“The Goodfellow program has helped me in a way you can’t believe,” Maribel said. “I’ll also go to the dollar store to get some toys and coloring books so this isn’t all they’ll have under the tree. I appreciate the help and smiles you give to my kids.”

Be a jolly Goodfellow

Since 1912, the Star-Telegram’s Goodfellow Fund has provided practical gifts for schoolchildren. Join this tradition by visiting goodfellowfundfw.com to make a secure credit card donation.