Here at Concepta, being involved in and giving back to the community is one of our greatest joys. This holiday season, we had the honor of adopting a family through XL 106.7's Johnny's House and their Baby DJ program for the first time. Reading dozens of letters from people in need, we were touched by everyone's stories. However, there was one in particular that moved us the most.
A Heartbreaking Story
We adopted a single mother who had fallen on hard times the past two years due to some untimely health problems and devastating losses in her family.Her four children, ages 3 to 14, were not asking for much this year, and were happy to simply have their family intact and a home of their own, at last.The mother has had to skip birthdays for herself and two of her children, her father passed away around Christmas last year from lung cancer and his ashes are still in a plastic bag tucked in a box and was never given a proper funeral, her grandmother had dementia and passed away in her arms, she has had to move in with family who only allowed her two weeks worth of clothing and has since then left, her children now only own one toy each, one of her kids has muscular dystrophy and autism and another has diabetes, her mother has stage 4 colon cancer, she doesn't even have enough to call it living paycheck-to-paycheck and the apartment that she just got in October may be something she can no longer afford, and to top it all off...she is in a constant custody battle to keep her family together.With so many unfortunate events happening in her life in such a short time, she still seems to be grateful of her situation and tries to make the best of it with a smile, even through her tears.In her letter she writes, "...this opportunity to just talk about it all and realize how much I have and have had going on and I finally got to deal with some of the hurt and let some it go, so thank you for that. I would love to give my kids some kind of Christmas this year."
Operation: Make Christmas Great Again
Thanks to a successful GoFundMe campaign, and the generosity of our employees and leadership, our “elves” were able to deliver gifts, household items, and basic necessities to give this family the Christmas they truly deserved!And indeed this family got an overwhelmingly remarkable Christmas. Via a text message she wrote, "My youngest son put his clothes on immediately and refused to take them off - shoes and all. My youngest daughter finally took off her favorite dress that she likes to wear every day. She now has a new favorite Peppa Pig outfit and shoes. She is in heaven.With what you guys have done, it has freed up a lot of stress to more than just one area/aspect. I got to finally enjoy my birthday with the older kids and with the gift card, they got to buy the things to make me a cake and dinner. Thank you! It made them feel great and it made me cry - in a good way. You guys are a blessing!"
Thank you EVERYONE for your contributions to our adopted family - from donations to your time to resources that you have, you have ALL made this possible and a memorable one here at Concepta. Happy Holidays!
*Special thanks to the National Cremation Society in Oviedo and Target Store Millenia for your helping hand!
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