Mom hopes Goodfellows comes through for her son as family faces economic hardship
Ariel is a young boy who only has one pair of shoes to wear to school — and they are worn. His mother, Laura, describes him as “a brave and very intelligent 6-year-old boy who loves math and Spanish.”
Ariel is very good at math. He knows that his family is going through a difficult economic situation.
“He is content with looking in the stores for new pairs of shoes, especially if they are from his favorite cartoons,” Laura said. “But then he says ‘True mommy,’ and I answer ‘Yes, my love, we will come get them later.’”
But Ariel knows that every day that he goes to school he has to wear his usual tennis shoes — even if they are worn.
However, Goodfellow Fund is there to help youngsters like Ariel. The Star-Telegram charity has been doing this for more than a century, and this holiday season has doubled their assistance.
The Goodfellow Fund is providing $100 gift cards to Old Navy stores for children such as Ariel to buy new clothing. It’s twice the assistance of the $50 cards in years past to help offset the rising costs of goods.
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 goodfellowfundfw.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.
