Rather than ask for LEGOs, dolls and fire trucks, members of one family are requesting clothes and shoes from Santa.
“You have no idea,” said Susan, 43, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy. “Teenagers need clothes, and we can’t afford shoes.”
Susan who is married, recently stopped working, while suffering from multiple herniated discs. Bills for physical therapy co-pays jumped from $30 to $60 per session, and mom now skips taking therapy.
“I’m supposed to go to physical therapy but I can’t afford it,” she said. “Thirty dollars was a lot when you’re strapped for cash.”
Due to inflation, and with eight kids aged from 3 to 23, and all but one living at home, regular food bills rose from $150 to $200 to $350 to $400. The cost of paper products has almost doubled, she said.
Susan tested positive for COVID and with the mortgage payments three months late, this mom is pleased that her kids are fed at school. On Friday afternoons, her children are given a backpack full of food, courtesy of the local food bank. Susan and her children are thankful.
Each year, Operation Holiday helps make Christmas brighter for hundreds of children just like Susan’s.
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 32nd 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 $122,000 in donations last year provided food and gifts for 379 children and cash donations to 13 food pantries in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties.
This year, Operation Holiday has partnered with 22 agencies in the tri-county area. Agencies have referred 144 families with 375 children for gifts and food and an additional 34 families for food. The program is also assisting the eight families in Pottstown who lost their homes in a devastating explosion in May.
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.
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.
Operation Holiday does not accept families who have not been referred by an agency.
Source: Berkshire mont
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