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Generous mom now finds herself in need

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 writing to ask for assistance for my best friend. She is one of the good Americans I often see you writing about. She is a hard-working single mother to a wonderful 10-year-old daughter.

She lost her own business due to the poor economy and now is working for a local store at minimum wage. She was very embarrassed to tell me she needed help, but I told her how The Time Is Now to Help is there to help people. She couldn’t believe there was an organization like yours. She always is the one who helps everyone else around her.

I have never seen her turn down a plea for help, be it pet sitting, house cleaning help, or yard work for senior citizens. She never accepts a dime for this help; it comes from her heart. She is always there for everyone else. I know she is a hard-working, deserving single mom. Could you possibly talk to her?

A caring and worried friend

Dear readers,

I first called on the writer of the letter to ask a few questions. She was one of many neighbors who have been helped by this single mom. She told me her own family was struggling with job loss and the poor economy, but refused help for herself.

She wanted any assistance we could offer to go to her friend in need. She even told me she had visited her friend last week at her apartment and had been appalled to see very little food. Her friend’s car had broken down. She looked sad, thin, and had rings under her eyes. She asked me to please check on her as soon as possible.

I found myself knocking on her door within an hour, since the woman’s phone was disconnected. A thin, tired looking woman came to the door and politely inquired whom I was. When I told her I was W.C. coming to help, she broke into tears. She had not expected anyone to help her. Her apartment was small, but neatly kept. She had a small, friendly dog and a cat she was caring for, for a friend that had lost their home to foreclosure.

Even in her desperate time, she was still helping others. We talked at length about her business loss, her present job, her daughter and her daughter’s father who no longer kept in touch. She did not receive child support and was not receiving any assistance. She had applied for housing and utility assistance, but was on a very long waiting list.

She had just heard about the W.C. Family Resource Center and was planning on going there as soon as her car was running again. When I offered to help, she tried to decline, then burst into tears again because she wanted the assistance to go to someone else in need.

I convinced her she needed our help so she could continue to help the many seniors counting on her strength and health. Also, her daughter was counting on her as a mother to get strong again. I could see she had been denying herself in order to give what little food she had to her daughter. When I asked her how far she was behind in her rent, she showed me her eviction notice and several late notices for utilities.

We helped to bring these up to date and paid her utilities a little ahead. We then talked about the condition of her car. It seemed logical to provide her with a recently donated, good-running car. She was beyond words as I looked at her tear-streaked face. The next time I saw the mother and child, they were happily driving away in their donated car.

The mom was determined to find a better job now that she had a reliable car and did not have to rely on a partial drive and walk to her present job. We had given her enough food to feed her daughter and herself healthy meals for several weeks. She looked healthier, had much more energy, and was lovingly taking good care of her daughter.

She is a sweet, God-loving woman already paying it forward to many seniors in need around her. She has a secure roof over head and her utilities are up to date. Together, we are removing the pain and sorrow of poverty.

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

A very special thank you: Susan and Michael Borden, Summertime Foundation, Bill and Lois McEssy, MLH, Marshall and Abbe Bauer, Dick and Jean Honeyager, Jim Bozich and Lake Geneva GM Super Center, Gregg Kunes and Kunes Country Ford, Springfield Auto Sales, Mark McClellan and Larry’s Towing, Lakes Area Senior Club, Paul Ziegler, Paper Dolls, Martin O’Brien, Mary Kay Ring, Frank and Florence Bogyos, Mary Cucchi, Heidi Hall, Shawna Kneipper, Gerald and Marilyn Wilkin, Kevin and Cynthia Trupp, Gene Krauklis, Lisa Loepke, Diane Palma, Barry Rueckert, Michaek McCourt, Rob Kendrick, Jerry Fabry, W.C. Family Resource Center/Food Pantry volunteers.