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With your help, hard-working single mom has hope for new year

Editor's note: The Time is Now to Help was founded by a local businessman who knew extreme poverty as a child. With the help of donations from the community, The Time is Now is able to help local residents in need.

Dear W.C.,

I am so ashamed to have to write this letter, but I have to keep my job to provide for my children. I was wondering if you would be able to help me get my car repaired.

I am a single mother with three children and I rely on my car to get me to and from work. The police told me the car has to be fixed or I can no longer drive it after 10 days. Can you please help me with this?

I do not have a phone anymore because I could not afford to pay the bill. Just stop by my apartment in the afternoon when I am home from work any time. Thank you so much. — Struggling mom of three

Dear readers,

The letter I received from this mother was very short but I could tell this woman and her children needed help. I followed her direction and drove to the address she had provided. It was a small, older apartment building. I knocked on the door and was greeted by a woman with a young child in her arms. She excitedly asked, “Are you W.C.?” When I told her “yes,” she smiled with tears in her eyes.

She immediately said, “Let me show you my car.” She ran to get their coats and her keys. We walked to the parking lot while she told me a little about herself.

The car we arrived at looked like it had been abandoned there. The driver’s door was wired shut, the windshield was cracked, the tires were bald and the whole car was rusting. I hesitantly asked her if she actually still drove the car and she said, “Yes, every day to the sitter’s house and work.”

She had to enter the car on the passenger side due to the broken driver’s side door. When she started the engine, a huge cloud of oily smoke poured into the air and the muffler rattled as it hit the ground. I asked her to let me get in the driver’s seat. When I put my foot on the brake pedal, it touched the floor before the car slowly stopped.

I could not imagine her driving this vehicle safely anywhere, much less with children inside. She asked if I thought it was fixable as she began to cry. I told her she should meet me the next day at the car shop of friend of mine. She then asked me inside where it was warm to talk some more.

Her apartment was small and I could tell they had just started eating lunch before I arrived. The preschooler climbed back in her chair to eat her small piece of sandwich. I noticed the mother’s plate had hardly any food on it. She looked embarrassed when she saw me looking at her plate. She quickly explained she worked as a waitress in the evenings and would grab something to eat at work. She said she saved what little food she had for her children.

I felt her heartbreak and sacrifice. She told me she worked six nights a week as a waitress. Her two older children received free lunch at school. She had to pay for a sitter for the three children several nights a week. The other nights, the grandmother watched them when she could. The grandmother was unable to help them financially, since she was struggling herself.

The mother told me how her ex-husband had not paid child support for the past year and a half. He had fled the state and no one knew where he was. This had made it difficult for her to keep up with her bills and provide for her children. She said she had no choice but to work hard for her children. She is a loving mother. When I spoke to her boss, I was told she is a very hard worker.

I looked around the apartment and noticed everything was old and worn. There was a small Christmas tree in the corner but I did not notice any gifts under it. The little girl came out of her shyness and began to talk. She pointed at the tree and told me Santa would be coming soon. This brought more tears to the mother’s eyes as she turned to hide them from her daughter.

I made arrangements to meet the mother the next afternoon at a local car shop. I could hear her car coming before I even saw it. She walked over to where I was standing by several cars. I told her we had decided her car was too expensive to fix. She looked very sad and on the verge of tears, so I quickly pulled out a set of keys and handed them to her.

She looked confused for a second and then began to tremble. I said, “Go ahead, and start up this car.” I pointed to a nice, clean, used vehicle. She was so excited, she dropped the keys. Her hands shook as she opened the door. She climbed in the car and started it up. It ran smoothly and quietly.

She then looked in the back seat and saw the bags of food and several toys. I handed her some gift cards for gas to get her to and from work. I also gave her a gift card for a department store so she could buy the warm clothing her children would need for winter and Christmas gifts for each of them.

She then began to cry. She was overwhelmed by the compassion of The Time Is Now to Help. We also brought her utilities up to date and paid a little into the future so she could get on her feet again.

We could not have provided this assistance without your caring and sharing. We all need to take the time to thank God for our many blessings. Remember the many families, children, handicapped and elderly struggling with the most basic of needs.

Thank you for your love, support, and generosity throughout the year.

We are happy to announce a $25,000 Christmas Blessing Matching Grant. Please remember that even though the holidays are over, there are still many fellow Americans living in desperate poverty.

Beginning Christmas Day, every dollar you donate will be matched by the $25,000 Christmas Blessing Grant. Only through all of your compassionate caring and sharing can we, together, accomplish so much.

Health and happiness, God bless everyone, W.C.

A very special thank you: Bill and Lois McEssy, McDonald’s, MLH, Paul Ziegler HS, Mark and Natalie Reno, The Kara Foundation, Paper Dolls, Dennis and Christine Haak, Martin O’Brien, Daniel Przewoznik, Ron Amann, Stuart and Dee Wild, Sidney Johnson, Carolyn Hopkins, Debra Guzman, Mackenzie Breen, Bev Boughton, Brian and Joan Goedland, Thomas and Donna Labecki, Stanley Blum, Susan Boring, Allie and Tyler Boggs, Konrad and Caterina Frenz, John and Kristi Hugunin, Paul and Julie Frank, Barbara Morrissey, Peter and Gail Nieuwenhuis, Gerald and Thelma Meyer, Martha Flury, Sandralee Thiele, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Behrens, Geoffrey and Melinda Holt in Christmas honor of Ken Kayser, Brian and Lisa Schmidt, June Davidsen, Joseph and Cecilia Kowalski, James and Carolyn Miles, Elizabeth Wallace, Jane Manske, Harold and Kay Hruska, Joanne Zeasman, Steve and Betty Thornton, Carroll and Shirley Rands, Thelma Robbins, W.C. Family Resource Center/Food Pantry volunteers, all of you who support The Time Is Now to Help donation boxes, and the businesses that allow our donation boxes. Anyone who would like a Time Is Now donation box in your business, call (262) 249-7000.