Closed schools affect work, studies for mother of 4

Joan isn’t looking forward to Christmas.

“Not really. It’s stressful,” she said in a recent interview.

The Montgomery County Community College student, who is studying to become a social worker, and her four children, ages 10, 8, 7 and 5, would all normally be taking their classes in a school building.

Now, with the pandemic, they’re studying at home and she has to try to help the children before getting to her own studies at night after the kids have gone to bed.

“I have two that are struggling and two that aren’t,” said Joan, whose name has been changed in this article to protect the family’s privacy. “They need to be in a classroom setting and have that structure and a teacher to help them more.”

She knows about online studies not only from seeing her children do it, but also from her own experience.

“It’s harder. School is harder online,” Joan said.

All four of the children were in before- and afterschool daycare, which was closed because of the pandemic and only recently reopened, she said.

The pandemic has also kept her from her job, she said.

“I have my CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) license and I was doing that,” she said. “Then with corona and the schools shut down for all those months, I had to stay home with my kids.”

Joan’s stress over the holidays can be helped by the aid of Operation Holiday.

Now in its 30th year, Op

eration Holiday has provided a brighter holiday season to thousands of families with children throughout the region. Donations from readers last year totaled more than $35,000 and allowed the program to provide food and gifts for 107 families with 325 children in need.

This year, 15 agencies in Montgomery and Chester counties have referred families in need, many of them affected by the devastation of the global pandemic. Stories of families interviewed by our reporters will appear in the newspaper and online between now and December 24.

Also this year due to the hardship in our communities caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Operation Holiday will make cash donations to local food pantries so that families will have access to food during the winter months.

There is no overhead with Operation Holiday and all funds stay local. Funds are collected and audited in a non-profit foundation account man