Three years ago, Julia found herself in a difficult and scary position.
The Greenwich Township mother of a then-13-year-old son was pregnant with her second child. The father was abusive, and wanted nothing to do with being a parent.
Julia escaped that relationship, but that left her facing her pregnancy alone.
Then, something surprising happened. She met a man.
“I didn’t really want anything to do with dating,” she said, adding that the match was made through a social media dating site. “It’s just like they say, when you’re done looking they find you.”
Julia’s new boyfriend was fully onboard with her pregnancy, telling her he would stand by her side through it all. And he did, even when things got tough.
Incredibly tough.
Six months into her pregnancy Julia discovered the son growing inside of her had fluid on his brain, a condition known as hydrocephalus. It represented a very real, very dangerous challenge.
“There was no way of knowing how he was going to come out — if he’d be breathing, if he’d need surgery right away,” she said.
When her son was born, it initially appeared everything was fine. But after four days things took a turn and he was rushed into surgery to have a shunt placed in his brain.
He also ended up being diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Her son’s condition led Julia, who had previously worked as a medical assistant, to quit her job and take on the roll as his full-time caretaker. Her boyfriend — who eventually ended up becoming her husband — took on the roll of breadwinner.
“I told him that I didn’t know how hard it was going to be, but that I wasn’t going to keep him bound to this,” she said. “He said that we’ll do this together.”
That task of raising a family — the couple would eventually add a daughter and a teenage family member to the crew — was a financial challenge, Julia said. They didn’t qualify for much in the way of assistance, so they turned to local organization like the Helping Harvest food bank.
“The food banks are so necessary because it really sucks out here,” she said. “Life is just hard. Helping Harvest and other places have really helped, I don’t know what I would do without them.”
Julia said she and her husband are finally getting back on their feet financially, thanks in part to her now qualifying to be paid as her son’s official caregiver. And as things improve, she said, they’re hoping to be able to support organizations like Helping Harvest because they know just how much good they can do.
“They have done so much,” she said.
Operation Holiday looks to help those kinds of organization, too.
History
Operation Holiday was started in 1991 at The Mercury in Pottstown to help families going through tough times provide something for their children during the holidays. The mission of the program is to make sure there is food on the table and gifts under the tree when Christmas morning comes.
Now in its 35th year, the program has served thousands of families throughout Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties, expanding its reach in recent years to include communities served by readers of the Reading Eagle, The Times Herald, The Reporter, and Daily Local News.
Nearly $85,000 in donations last year provided gift cards to 366 children and grocery gift cards to 189 families, plus cash donations to food pantries in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties.
This year, Operation Holiday has partnered with 21 agencies in the tri-county area. Agencies have referred 199 families with 403 children for gifts and food.
There is no overhead with Operation Holiday and all funds stay local. Funds are collected and audited in a nonprofit foundation account managed by staff of MediaNews Group who volunteer their time.
Gift cards to area grocery stores are provided to each family for food, so that they can purchase the fixings for a holiday dinner as well as staples for the pantry. Weis Markets is a partner with Operation Holiday and has assisted with food purchases and gift cards.
Gift cards for every child in the program 16 years of age or younger are purchased through Boscov’s and distributed in partnership with the referring agencies so that families can purchase gifts of their choice.
Operation Holiday does not accept families who have not been referred by an agency.
Operation Holiday is funded solely by reader contributions. All contributions are tax deductible.
How to donate
Online donations are being accepted in a secure portal in partnership with TriCounty Community Network. Visit https://tcnetwork.org/ and click on the link for Operation Holiday.
Contributions also can be mailed with checks payable to Operation Holiday to P.O. Box 1181, Pottstown PA 19464; The Reporter, 34 Susquehanna Ave., Suite 100, Lansdale PA 19446; Operation Holiday, 1440 Lacrosse Ave., Reading PA 19607.
The names of all contributors are published in the participating newspapers as donations are received. Please note whether a contribution should be designated as anonymous or given in tribute or in memory of someone.
