Family of 4 lost home, job, dog and car in 2020

While 2020 has not been particularly kind to many of us, it has been particularly hard on Lilly and her three daughters.

In the course of the year, Lilly, whose name has been changed to protect the family’s privacy, has lost her house to a fire, her dog to that fire, her car to age and her job to COVID-19.

Making money tighter is the fact that two of her daughters, 18 and 19, are currently in college.

Her third daughter is 16 and attending her high school classes remotely. And since shortly after the new year, they have all been doing those remote classes from a motel or, more recently, a friend’s home.

“We had the fire, and we lost the dog, we lost everything,” Lilly recently told a MediaNews Group reporter.

“We were at a banquet at our church down the street and one of my daughter’s friends who volunteers with the fire company called and said our house was on fire,” Lilly said of that day.

Their dog, a Pomeranian/chihuahua mix named Pumpkin, had been lef t home and died in the fire.

“That was hard on my girls. We’d had Pumpkin for three years. My daughters kept bugging me for a dog and I always said ‘I’ve got three kids, I don’t need a dog. That’s just more responsibility,’” Lilly said.

But during a trip to Florida to visit Lilly’s mom, Pumpkin came into their lives and she came home to Pottstown with them.

They had lived in the

house for 15 years and fire officials said they believe the fire began due to a malfunctioning refrigerator.

“I had a whole bunch of stuff I was going to give away too, nice clothes I had washed and packed up to donate,” she said.

Luckily, she still had her job

ecause she is a foodB service worker at an institution, Lilly is considered an “essential worker” during the pandemic restrictions, and so has had work — that is until the institution closed.

Friday was her last day and she doesn’t have any new jobs lined up yet “and my car just broke down,” she said.

Nor, although she’s looking, has she been able to find a new home big enough and affordable enough for her family to move into.

That means this week, Lily is looking for a new job, a new home and a new car.

With Christmas approaching, Lilly admits the season will be hard for her and her family not just because of finances, but also because of everything lost in the fire.

“I had a whole shelf of Christmas decorations in the basement, special ornaments,” she said.

“I love to decorate and last year, I used snowflake wrapping paper on one wall, and put cotton balls along the baseboard to make a snow wall,” Lilly said excitedly, briefly forgetting that there will be no such opportunity for inspiration this year.

But thanks to Operation Holiday, there will be gifts and food.

Most years, Operation Holiday provides not only $75 gift certificates to Boscov’s for gifts, but two boxes of food for a holiday meal.

However, this year, due to the pandemic, putting many volunteers together in one place to pack food is unsafe, so instead, families will get gift cards to the grocery store.

That will suit Lilly just fine, as it will allow her to buy the food the family traditionally has for the holidays.

“I usually make some collard greens, mac and cheese, potato salad, but

ter beans with a smoky sauce, a roast, beef ribs and some fish for my one daughter and a pie — sweet potato,” Lilly said.

“Thank you so much,” she said. “You’ve really lifted my spirits.”

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. alone totaled more than $35,000 and allowed the program to provide food and gifts for 107 families with 325 children in need.

T his 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 Dec. 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 nonprofit foundation account managed by staff of MediaNews Group.

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.