by Taryn McColpin
Ahhh, November…For almost two months now, Ann has noticed the Christmas wares in the aisles of local stores, and there are two months to go until the date itself. Her heart sinks each day when she does the necessary shopping for her family, portioning out her food stamps and the tips she received at her waitressing job, and every passing night brings more sleepless hours of worry and despair. The aspect of the looming holidays holds no joy for Ann, only dread.
Ann is a single mother of two young children, 7-year-old Toby and 4-year-old Tina. Suddenly alone since the desertion of her husband early last year, she’s been struggling from paycheck to paycheck for many months now. Ann has no family able to help her, and she has run the stand-in-line-and-wait gamut to receive the minimum amount of State Aid. Her job, even when her tips are good, barely pays the bills, and there is no extra money for anything but necessities.
Daycare for the kids seems to cost almost as much as Ann makes, and she has to fight the anger she feels when the Aid Department counselor suggests she take a second job…doesn’t he see that she would have to pay double daycare if she did? The relative affluence of the other children leaves her own little ones yearning for what they can’t have. Toby would like to play T-Ball, but Ann has to bear the disappointment in his eyes when she explains that she can’t afford the equipment. Tina asks for dolls like the ones the other little girls have, and is too young to understand why Ann can’t buy them for her.
Ann’s story is just a glimpse of what faces the population that we don’t see: the working poor, the struggling, the desperate. These are not the homeless illuminated by the media, these are not the welfare-milkers. These are fellow humans who are in a place where, but for the grace of the fates, each of us could find ourselves. Fortunes and circumstances ebb and flow, and we who are at the top of our personal tide of luck would do well to remember that Ann’s story could be ours in the blink of an eye. Economic downturns have left a good percentage of Americans one paycheck away from disaster.
Look into your heart and find the compassion to help Ann, her children, and the thousands of local residents like them. The Denton County Toy Store, which benefits the needy children of Denton County at Christmastime, is a place to start. Toy drop-off boxes are in every Denton County office, as well as the Toy Store’s home site, Asbury Methodist Church.
The annual Denton ABATE Memorial Toy Run will be held on November 19th. It begins at noon at the Stonehill Center at I-35 and North Loop 288, drops off toys at Asbury Church, and continues to the American Legion in Lake Dallas with a food drive benefiting the Lake Cities Community Food Bank. All proceeds from the party after the Run benefit the Toy Store, as do contributions from ABATE members yearlong. Everyone is welcome, bikes or cars. Join us in helping Ann, and the many others like her, provide a decent Christmas for the children.
