Kathleen Cordeiro

A new year dawns. There are resolutions, good intentions and hope. For those of us serving on the Beacon Santa Board of Directors, there is more. We embark on 2022 inspired by the kindness that was demonstrated during the 2021 Beacon Santa fundraising campaign. The number of donors and the level of generosity was remarkable. These are still uncertain times and we board members are so appreciative that so many felt compelled to help their neighbors.

"Another year passes and we reach this time of year, and yet again I hoped we would be in a better position. Unfortunately, we are not. COVID has come in and totally hit us like a bus financially. The gym I was working at, doing mom hours working around my daughter's special needs, closed due to COVID. They have reopened, but no longer need me....My husband works all he can but it is barely enough to get by." This mother's letter accompanied an application to Beacon Santa for holiday assistance.

The letters have begun to arrive. A family of four whose children’s chronic medical problems make it impossible for both parents to work. A mother whose husband had COVID-19 who has struggled for the family’s financial survival with only her income to support them. A single mother of three children whose oldest was fully remote for school all of last year, resulting in a loss of work time and bills that have piled up. In-person classes have resumed, but the hardship of overdue bills continues.