Donations will help struggling family
POTTSTOWN » With several children and a grandson under her care, Dawn Firenzi is hoping the family will experience a nice Christmas through the Operation Holiday program.
“The little ones believe in Santa Claus and are looking forward to Christmas,” noted the Pottstown resident. “The older ones are understanding, but even at 16 they’re still looking forward to Christmas. They did tell me the kids can’t be over 13 for the program, so I don’t know. But I’ll greatly appreciate anything we can get for Christmas gifts.”
The young ones in the household are ages 1, 3, 9, 11, 16 and 19, noted Firenzi, who is on disability.
“It ’s a check once a month and it only goes so far. Things are really tight. I do get housing assistance. I received help from Montgomery County Housing Authority years ago when I was still working, and as my income decreased my rent decreased. A great chunk of my check is rent, and then I still have to pay the electric bill and buy groceries.”
Firenzi said she is grateful for the consistent income.
“I do have a guaranteed income, so I didn’t lose any income because of COVID but it’s hard because I don’t have extra money for holidays and things like that. I can’t even work the 20 years they would allow someone on disability to work because of my health issues.
I’m a brittle diabetic, Type 1, I have retinopathy, so my vision isn’t well at all, fibromyalgia, the list goes on.”
For tunately, medications are covered through a government program, she noted.
“It’s like any other disease, the longer you take medicine you become resistant to it. I take about six shots of insulin a day.”
Firenzi said she was glad to find out about the Operation Holiday program through Community Health & Dental Care, her main source for assistance.
“It’s a clinic and they have an office at Coventry Mall and they’ve been so much help to me,” she said. “The pediatrician is there and my doctor and our dentist too. They expanded, so they also have a social worker in there now, who I think nominated me for the Operation Holiday. They help with any services you could need. If you need government assistance, or food, they even have counseling. You can get everything there now.”
Now in its 30th year, Operation 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 managed by staff of
MediaNews Group.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, the food packaging program will not take place this year. Families instead will be given gift cards for food in addition to the gift cards for gifts.
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 Mercury, Attn: Operation Holiday, PO Box 1181, Pottstown, PA 19464, or The Reporter, 307 Derstine Ave., Lansdale PA 19446. 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.