On New Year’s Eve, while many families were welcoming a new year full of hope, one mother in our community was facing one of the most devastating nights of her life.

Yoalis, a hardworking and devoted single mother of three young children, lost almost everything when a fire destroyed her home. In just a few minutes, the place where she protected, cared for, and raised her children became completely uninhabitable. Today, Yoalis is sleeping in her car, without a safe roof over her head, without the belongings she worked so hard to provide for her family.

Yoalis is not someone who asks for help easily. She is strong, responsible, and dedicated — a mother who works tirelessly every day with only one goal in mind: giving her children a better future. But today, she needs us.

She needs to recover the basics:

a safe place to sleep,

clothes, food, hygiene essentials,

and the chance to start over.

This is our opportunity, as the Orlando and St. Cloud community, to show that when one of our own falls, they are not alone. That we are a community that lifts, embraces, and stands together.

Every donation, no matter how small, can mean a warm bed, a hot meal, a smile, and a moment of peace for three children who have lost nearly everything.

Today, Yoalis is not asking for charity.

She is asking for hope.

And we can be that hope.

Thank you for opening your hearts and extending your hands.

May every act of kindness be returned to you many times over.