While the inflation crisis has hurt everyone’s wallet, the pain is particularly acute for low-income families this holiday season.
Sandra is a single mom of three who juggles a heavy workload. On top of her job, she is responsible for the household cooking, cleaning, errand running and homework help. She must also be on-hand to drive her mother to her doctor’s appointments and her 9-year-old son to and from school, as he is a “walker” despite living over a mile from campus.
Sandra’s family and household responsibilities limit her to part-time work. She also receives minimal child support from her daughter’s father. Her meager sources of income have left her “barely surviving” amidst the high cost of living.
“A lot of times I will have to pay a bill late to put food on the table,” she said. “It’s very overwhelming and stressful.”
Money is so tight that even one missed day of work can be devastating.
“My office shut down for Thanksgiving on Thursday and Friday,” she said. “I came back to work every night the next week to make up those hours. I cannot miss any work or things will be even worse.”
While Sandra always ensures that her children’s basic needs are met, she will often forego essentials for herself, including her contact lenses.
“I’m only supposed to use one pair for one month,” she said. “I usually use one pair for 3-4 months.”
In recent weeks, Sandra’s children have asked for Christmas presents. However, they are fully understanding of their family’s financial limitations.
“They know that times are hard,” she said. “They said to just get what I can.”
But for Sandra, the best Christmas gift would simply be a stable, happy life for her family.
“I just want to be able to pay the bills, have the oil tank full and feed my children,” she said. “I want us to all be happy.”
Operation Holiday
Operation Holiday was started in 1991 at The Mercury in Pottstown to help families going through tough times provide something for their children during the holidays. The mission of the program is to make sure there is food on the table and gifts under the tree when Christmas morning comes.
Now in its 33rd year, the program has served thousands of families throughout Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties, expanding its reach in recent years to include communities served by Reading Eagle, The Times Herald, The Reporter, and Daily Local News.
More than $91,000 in donations last year provided food and gifts for 451 children and 199 families, plus cash donations to food pantries in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties.
This year, Operation Holiday has partnered with 19 agencies in the tri-county area. Agencies have referred 165 families with 419 children for gifts and food.
Gift cards to area grocery stores are provided to each family for food, so that they can purchase the fixings for a holiday dinner as well as staples for the pantry. Weis Markets is a partner with Operation Holiday and has assisted with food purchases and gift cards.
Gift cards for every child in the program 16 years of age or younger are purchased through Boscov’s and distributed in partnership with the referring agencies so that families can purchase gifts of their choice.
There is no overhead with Operation Holiday and all funds stay local. Funds are collected and audited in a non-profit foundation account managed by staff of MediaNews Group who volunteer their time.
Operation Holiday does not accept families who have not been referred by an agency. Operation Holiday is funded solely by reader contributions. All contributions are tax-deductible.
HOW TO DONATE
Online donations are being accepted in a secure portal in partnership with TriCounty Community Network. Visit https://tcnetwork.org and click on the link for Operation Holiday.
Contributions can be mailed with checks payable to Operation Holiday to P.O. Box 1181, Pottstown PA 19464; The Reporter, 307 Derstine Ave., Lansdale PA 19446; Operation Holiday, 1440 Lacrosse Ave., Reading, PA 19607.
