Mom of six falling behind after layoffs

“I mean, we’re normal people, like everybody else. People fall on hard times, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at us. We always try to help everybody, if we can.”

Sometimes, a family that could use a little help for the holidays is not who you might expect.

“I mean, we’re normal people, like everybody else. People fall on hard times, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at us. We always try to help everybody, if we can,” said Dorothy.

“My house is the house where all the kids go. I don’t ever have the heart to turn the kids in the neighborhood away ... but sometimes, you just don’t have it.”

A single mom of six children ranging from 13 to one year old, Dorothy said she tries to keep them provided with as much as possible, but has been on a run of bad luck lately.

“My kids are great. My oldest, he’s an honors student, he’s on the football team and the wrestling team. My other son plays hockey — they’re really great kids, and I’m just trying to make ends meet and let them do everything they want to,” she said.

Up until about two-anda-half years ago, Dorothy was a store manager in charge of several employees, and always tried to do what she could for them.

“I used to be very welloff, and then it was just a matter of two, two-and-ahalf years, everything just declined like crazy,” said Dorothy.

“I used to have employees come in with holes in their shoes, and stuff like that. Everybody needs help sometimes,” she said.

That business closed two years ago, then she found another job for a year, until she fell to another round of layoffs this past summer. Temporary jobs have helped make ends meet, but Dorothy — which is not her real name — has lost her car and fallen behind on rent while trying to keep everything else squared away.

“We’ve been really far behind on rent, and just making sure the heat is on, the electricity, everything else,” she said.

“We’re supposed to pay $2,900 (of back rent), and I have $2,600 of it paid for the back court order, but then I’m still behind on this month’s rent after catching up on the other months,” Dorothy said.

With the holidays approaching, what does her family need most, from families looking to spread a little holiday cheer?

“Clothes and shoes. My nine-year-old in particular, goes through shoes like, I have no idea. Kids are forever growing, so clothes is a big help,” she said.

“I only have two (kids) left in diapers, and they’re expensive too. I’m trying to get my two-year-old out of them, but he’s being a little stubborn and doesn’t want to do that,” Dorothy said with a laugh.

“I swear, I just bought them clothes at the end of summer, the beginning of the schoolyear, and now their pants are too short, the arms aren’t long enough anymore. It’s only been a couple of months, and I’m like, ‘How do you grow so fast?’”

Now in its 29th year, Operation Holiday has provided a brighter holiday season to thousands of families with children throughout the region. Donations from readers last year allowed the program to provide food and gifts for 144 families with 442 children in need.

This year, 15 agencies in Montgomery County and northern Chester County have referred 107 families with 325 children. Stories of families interviewed by our reporters will appear in the newspaper and online between now and December 24.

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.

Food, which includes the fixings for a holiday dinner as well as staples for the pantry, is ordered, bought, packed and distributed by employees and their family members as well as local high school and community volunteers..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.

Operation Holiday does not accept families who have not been referred by an agency in order to protect the integrity of the program.

Operation Holiday is funded solely by readers’ contributions. All contributions are tax deductible.

Contributions can be mailed to The Reporter, 307 Derstine Ave., Lansdale PA 19446 or to The Pottstown Mercury, Attn: Operation Holiday, PO Box 1181, Pottstown, PA 19464. Make checks payable to “Operation Holiday.”

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.

Names and donations will be published in the newspaper as they are received. Please note if you want your donation to be listed as “Anonymous” for publication or if you would like it listed as “In memory of ...” or “In honor of ...” Donations that do not include a notation will be published with the name of the donor as written on the check.