Eighth grade boys don’t usually cry. Especially a tall, handsome soccer player, who says math is his favorite subject in school.
Anthony lives with his mother, and three other siblings – Israel, a 4th grader, Vanessa, age 3, and Andrea, 18 months old, in a small, tidy house not far from the Arizona State Capital. Like other working poor families in the neighborhood, they struggle to make ends meet.
I learned about this family because they had received help from the St. Vincent de Paul conference in the area. I was so taken by the four children when I met them – their politeness and especially how warmly they responded to my presence.
SVdP has helped keep this family together over a period of years. During a rough patch four years ago, we supplied mattresses so the mother and her then 9- and 5-year-old sons wouldn’t have to sleep on the hard floor in the one-bedroom apartment the mother managed to rent. Another time, we helped with a rent payment that kept the family from eviction. Several months ago, the mother found a new job at a call center. A voucher for our thrift store allowed her to obtain suitable work clothes.
Recently, we have been supplying the family with monthly food boxes to help supplement the small salary the mother receives. With two hungry, active boys and two children in daycare, her salary can’t quite cover all their needs.
So what made Anthony cry? When it came time for school this year, Anthony’s one school uniform no longer fit him and was very worn after a year of wear and washings. He wouldn’t go to school without a uniform that fit him.
His mother told me that we provided clothing vouchers in August so that both boys could have new school uniforms.
When I asked Anthony what that meant to him, tears ran down his face. Those tears said everything.
I wanted to cry, too. For him, for his pride and for knowing how such little help can mean so much.
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Touching story, Susan. Good that your organization was there for this family.