Mother’s request for girls is full of hope and gratitude
It’s certainly no secret that in the past 12 months, the cost of nearly everything has shot up.
Rents are higher, gas and food are more expensive, affordable childcare remains out of reach for many working families. Heating the house or apartment this winter will cost more than it did a year ago.
So with the holiday shopping season in full swing, parents barely making ends meet are stretched to the limit.
The weight is especially heavy for single parents, and thousands of them turn to Globe Santa for help.
“While I am limited when it comes to funds, we will never be short on gratitude,” a single mother of two daughters, ages 11 and 3, wrote in a letter to Globe Santa. “They loved what they got last year and seeing them smile was worth everything.”
The past few years have been hard, she wrote, particularly because of a lack of affordable childcare for her youngest daughter.
Now that the little girl has entered a pre-kindergarten program, her mother has expanded her job search and will be able to work more hours in 2024, moving her one step closer to financial independence.
“I am hoping this will be the last year I need help as I am also looking to start [my daughter] in a new [after-school] program,” she wrote.
A mother of two from a city on Boston’s North Shore has been struggling in similar ways with very similar circumstances. She has a 12-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son, and finding childcare for her youngest has been exceedingly difficult.
When her son starts school next year, childcare should be less of a burden, she wrote.
In the meantime, she knows from experience what a difference a visit from Globe Santa can make.
“This program has helped my family for the past 2 years. Seeing their excitement when the kids open their gifts for Christmas means so much to me,” she wrote. “And GLOBE SANTA has made that happen for them. I can not thank you enough.”
In Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood, the mother of a 12year-old boy has been disabled and unable to work this year. She was fearing that the holiday season would be bleak and stressful.
“When I saw that the opportunity was here to write a Globe Santa letter, it took that overwhelming feeling of disappointing my son on Christmas away,” she said. “It gives me hope that I’ll be able to put a big smile on [my son’s] face this year.”
Putting smiles on children’s faces is Globe Santa’s specialty, and these three families will be among the thousands to receive gifts from the campaign.
The charity relies on the generosity of its donors, many of whom make giving to Globe Santa part of their holiday tradition.
For 68 years Globe Santa, a program of the Boston Globe Foundation, has provided gifts to children in need at holiday time. Please consider giving by phone, mail, or online at globesanta.org.