Soon-to-be single mom finds providing basics is difficult, asks Goodfellows for help
Divorce, always a sad occasion, is even more harsh during the holidays. For a soon to be single parent like Monica, providing a happy Christmas can be a daunting task when suddenly faced with a significantly reduced income.
“As a parent, nothing is more important to me than the well being and happiness of my children, especially during the holiday season. However, this past year has been one of the most challenging times for my family,” she said. “We have faced significant financial struggles, and not only has it been incredibly difficult to provide for even the most basic necessities.
“The weight of these hardships, particularly as we approach Christmas, has been heavy on my heart. Watching your children struggle with these feelings can be heart wrenching, as all you want is to protect them from pain.”
Navigating such emotions, both hers and the children, can be an exhausting uphill battle. Every parent wants to give their children a sense of comfort and joy during the holidays, but with their circumstances, Monica is worried about how she will provide her children with even the basic needs.
The Goodfellow Fund is there to help. The Star-Telegram charity has been coming to the aid of families like Monica’s for more than a century, and this season they are providing a $100 Old Navy gift card to help with clothing for youngsters. It’s double the amount of past Christmases to help compensate for the additional challenge of rising costs.
“It would lift a tremendous burden and allow me to give them a sense of normalcy and care that I strive for every day,” Monica said. “It would help restore hope, not just in the season, but in the possibility of brighter days ahead.”
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 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 find out more, or to learn more about helping, visit goodfellowfund.com. The post office box for donations and correspondence is P.O. Box 149, Fort Worth, TX. 76101.
New and additional donors are welcome and needed to help cover the cost of doubling the gift card amount.
New and additional donors are welcome and needed to help cover the cost of doubling the gift card amount.