Holiday Magic for a Special Mother and her Son
Donation protected
During this time of year, many of us look for ways to provide financial assistance to make the holidays a bit brighter for those that are less financially fortunate.
Well this year, here is a platform for those that are looking for an opportunity to help a very deserving woman provide some holiday magic for her just-as deserving son.
Jen is a beautiful person and is opening her heart to accepting our financial gifts. Jen is a single mother to Jayden, her 14 year old son. She has always worked hard to provide for their needs, often putting her son first. But like many, Jen has faced some additional hardships due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In early 2020, Jen gave up working in the bartending industry to best support her intentional lifestyle of living in recovery. She is now a Registered Yoga Teacher and had several teaching jobs, including teaching private clients, teaching corporate classes, and teaching kids yoga at a local school. To supplement the loss of income she brought in as a bartender, Jen also became a server in the restaurant industry. However, the pandemic took away most of these income-producing opportunities. The restaurant job and all but two yoga classes a week were lost due to Covid. In addition, Jen's unemployment benefits stopped two months ago and the financial stress and debts have been increasing. Jen has handled this stress with grace and positivity. However, the upcoming holidays are proving to be a tricky reality.
Jen's son Jayden is a 14 year old boy whom she is extremely proud of. She would love nothing more than to provide him with his only Christmas wish, which has to do with his favorite hobby...gaming! Jen is a financially responsible woman who has made specific choices to keep her expenses lower. She and Jayden live with her father which keeps expenses lower. She does not own a credit card and is extremely frugal. Jen recently accepted a new position at a supportive, inclusive restaurant that she is excited and grateful for. But since it is a brand-new establishment where she has only worked for three weeks with three shifts a week, she has not yet saved enough to pay off her recent debts from Covid and does not have any savings for holiday gifting.
Some of us that know Jen feel a deep sense of wanting to support her (and Jayden) simply because she is worthy of love and goodness. However, when approached with the idea, Jen did not feel comfortable accepting financial support. She mentioned that she asked her dad if she could put Jayden's Christmas gifts on his credit card and was brainstorming other possibilities. However, knowing that putting the gifts on a credit card and was not a healthy solution, she took the suggestion to look into community resources for holiday financial support (ex. Salvation Army, giving trees, "adopt-a-family", and/or local churches that provide holiday assistance), but learned those deadlines had passed and new families/children were not being accepted.
This leads us to this holiday fundraising opportunity for Jen and Jayden. It takes a courageous individual to accept love and support from others and Jen is going out of her comfort zone (after some gentle nudging) and accepted our support. When asked what her hopes and wishes were with this fundraising campaign, this is what she said. "I am a single mom. My son is Jayden. He's 14 and besides video games being his life, he is in Jiu Jitsu (which costs a lot of money), but he loves it and is really good at it. He's never stuck with anything else before and I'm so proud of the hard work he puts into practice. We live with my dad who is in active addiction and needs my help constantly. This gift from everyone would be very helpful because if I don't have to stress over being able to afford Christmas, I can take the money I am starting to make and pay my bills that I'm behind on and start saving a little to get out of my dad's house."
Let's see what we can do to provide a magical morning for Jayden (and Jen). The money raised will go towards Jayden's video game Christmas wishes. He would love a gaming PC. Jen recently got a hand-me-down office PC from a family member and is hoping she can put some money into it to make it gaming compatible. However, after doing some research and talking to my own sons, it will most likely not be possible to update her "office PC" into a "gaming PC". Though gaming PC's differ greatly in price, with Cyber Monday deals, an entry-level gaming PC starts around $600-$700. https://www.pcgamer.com/cyber-monday-pc-deals-2020/ He would also need a monitor and a keyboard, so I figured around $1000 for Jayden's Christmas wish. If there is extra money raised, wouldn't it be even more magical to chip away at some of Jen's Covid-related debts so she could start 2021 by saving her hard-earned money? Please understand this is not Jen's request and she would never spend this amount on her own. Instead, it is a daydream and we all know a little bit from a lot of individuals can make a far-fetched dream come true. Thank you to all of you! May your holiday season be filled with hope, health, and love.
Well this year, here is a platform for those that are looking for an opportunity to help a very deserving woman provide some holiday magic for her just-as deserving son.
Jen is a beautiful person and is opening her heart to accepting our financial gifts. Jen is a single mother to Jayden, her 14 year old son. She has always worked hard to provide for their needs, often putting her son first. But like many, Jen has faced some additional hardships due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In early 2020, Jen gave up working in the bartending industry to best support her intentional lifestyle of living in recovery. She is now a Registered Yoga Teacher and had several teaching jobs, including teaching private clients, teaching corporate classes, and teaching kids yoga at a local school. To supplement the loss of income she brought in as a bartender, Jen also became a server in the restaurant industry. However, the pandemic took away most of these income-producing opportunities. The restaurant job and all but two yoga classes a week were lost due to Covid. In addition, Jen's unemployment benefits stopped two months ago and the financial stress and debts have been increasing. Jen has handled this stress with grace and positivity. However, the upcoming holidays are proving to be a tricky reality.
Jen's son Jayden is a 14 year old boy whom she is extremely proud of. She would love nothing more than to provide him with his only Christmas wish, which has to do with his favorite hobby...gaming! Jen is a financially responsible woman who has made specific choices to keep her expenses lower. She and Jayden live with her father which keeps expenses lower. She does not own a credit card and is extremely frugal. Jen recently accepted a new position at a supportive, inclusive restaurant that she is excited and grateful for. But since it is a brand-new establishment where she has only worked for three weeks with three shifts a week, she has not yet saved enough to pay off her recent debts from Covid and does not have any savings for holiday gifting.
Some of us that know Jen feel a deep sense of wanting to support her (and Jayden) simply because she is worthy of love and goodness. However, when approached with the idea, Jen did not feel comfortable accepting financial support. She mentioned that she asked her dad if she could put Jayden's Christmas gifts on his credit card and was brainstorming other possibilities. However, knowing that putting the gifts on a credit card and was not a healthy solution, she took the suggestion to look into community resources for holiday financial support (ex. Salvation Army, giving trees, "adopt-a-family", and/or local churches that provide holiday assistance), but learned those deadlines had passed and new families/children were not being accepted.
This leads us to this holiday fundraising opportunity for Jen and Jayden. It takes a courageous individual to accept love and support from others and Jen is going out of her comfort zone (after some gentle nudging) and accepted our support. When asked what her hopes and wishes were with this fundraising campaign, this is what she said. "I am a single mom. My son is Jayden. He's 14 and besides video games being his life, he is in Jiu Jitsu (which costs a lot of money), but he loves it and is really good at it. He's never stuck with anything else before and I'm so proud of the hard work he puts into practice. We live with my dad who is in active addiction and needs my help constantly. This gift from everyone would be very helpful because if I don't have to stress over being able to afford Christmas, I can take the money I am starting to make and pay my bills that I'm behind on and start saving a little to get out of my dad's house."
Let's see what we can do to provide a magical morning for Jayden (and Jen). The money raised will go towards Jayden's video game Christmas wishes. He would love a gaming PC. Jen recently got a hand-me-down office PC from a family member and is hoping she can put some money into it to make it gaming compatible. However, after doing some research and talking to my own sons, it will most likely not be possible to update her "office PC" into a "gaming PC". Though gaming PC's differ greatly in price, with Cyber Monday deals, an entry-level gaming PC starts around $600-$700. https://www.pcgamer.com/cyber-monday-pc-deals-2020/ He would also need a monitor and a keyboard, so I figured around $1000 for Jayden's Christmas wish. If there is extra money raised, wouldn't it be even more magical to chip away at some of Jen's Covid-related debts so she could start 2021 by saving her hard-earned money? Please understand this is not Jen's request and she would never spend this amount on her own. Instead, it is a daydream and we all know a little bit from a lot of individuals can make a far-fetched dream come true. Thank you to all of you! May your holiday season be filled with hope, health, and love.
Organizer and beneficiary
Elisabeth Laatsch
Organizer
Orlando, FL
Jen Miller
Beneficiary