Help Norwalk neighbors for the holiday season
As the city faces a second holiday season amid COVID-19, the public is invited to help their neighbors in need via the Giving Fund.
For the fifth year in a row, the Hour has partnered with Family & Children’s Agency for the Giving Fund. Each week on Thursdays and Sundays, The Hour will publish 10 stories of clients from FCA who need some help. The needs vary from school supplies and child care to home furnishings and groceries. Each story has a case number, and donations can be made at Family & Children’s Agency, Inc. Acceptiva.
Donations can be designated to a specific case or to the general Client Support Fund at FCA.
The families and individuals mentioned in the stories often don’t know they have been submitted, and names have been changed to protect their privacy. Donations made in excess of a client’s need will go to the Client Support Fund to help others in need.
Each case in the Giving Fund includes an estimated dollar amount that would help a local person or family tackle everyday challenges such as rent payments, child care costs and transportation. Every dollar donated to the Giving Fund goes directly to the people in the stories, which will be published twice a week throughout the holiday season.
Thursday we published five more stories of community members who need help. Here are more:
215: Destiny is a single mom who is the foster mother to her niece and nephew. Destiny falls into an income bracket where she earns too much money to qualify for many services, but doesn’t make enough to pay for activities and extras for the kids. The three kids are inseparable and need to be in afterschool programming so she can continue working. A gift of $500 would help pay for activities so the kids can be safe and learning after school while Destiny works hard to provide for them all.
216: Sonya is 80 years old and recently lost her husband, to whom she was married for more than 60 years. During that time, Sonya’s husband was able to fix and maintain their home. Now that he’s gone and her finances are tight, the maintenance of her home has fallen behind. A gift of $200 would help Sonya pay for someone to do some repairs to her home to keep her safe.
217: Christian’s mom is his only parent and in the past year she had COVID-19 twice, even being hospitalized. During this frightening time, she was unable to continue working due to her illness. The electricity has been turned off in their apartment multiple times, leaving Christian in the dark and without internet to log into his school classes. This family lives paycheck to paycheck, using every dollar they have just to get by. A gift of $500 would pay their utilities to create a safer environment for Christian and allow his mother to get ahead of their expenses.
218: Cassie resides in Norwalk with her husband and three children. Cassie has had a rough year caring for her family as her daughter is developmentally delayed and has been having a hard time in school, including being bullied. Her husband has medical issues that sometimes cause him to lose hours at work. Cassie’s family is facing financial hardship, especially after her daughter was born two months ago. A gift of $350 would help them buy diapers, wipes, and other necessities for their baby girl and alleviate some of their financial distress.
219: Annie is in her 60s and has custody of her infant grandson because of substance abuse issues in the family. Annie works in health care but has had to decrease her hours so she can care for the baby. Unfortunately, even as her income has decreased due to fewer hours, her bills have gone up as she keeps the house warmer for the baby and has had to purchase essentials for his needs. A gift of $350 would help her pay for some winter bills and purchase baby items like warm clothing.