MY FRIEND AND HIS CHILDREN

My friend lives in poverty. He has two beautiful little children that he gets to see once a week. He will also collect his children a couple times a month to bring back and stay with him for the weekend. He has to spend substantial amounts on travel costs every time he goes to see them, leaving him with very little for himself. He has a heart of gold and will always put his children first. I have seen him go without, just so that he can meet his children's needs. They are lovely little kids, a boy and a girl. They are so appreciative of what they have, and their daddy will do anything to see them smile. It is really upsetting to see people struggle financially. It is very difficult for single parents to get by when they are out of work. My friend is unable to work due to mental health issues which he is facing since he lost his mother earlier this year. The government do not recognise/empathise the struggle of living on benefits as a single parent. Despite all the money my friend spends on travel costs to get to his children, and the money he spends on them when they are together, he still has to pay towards child maintenance, the same amount as a single father who is in a better financial situation than himself. I am doing this fundraiser to help my friend with his travel costs, and for him to be able to buy basic necessities such as food and electricity without worrying that he wouldn't have enough money to go see his children. Your donations would also help ensure that my friend has: -Enough money to warm the house when his children are staying over; -the ability to purchase healthy, nutricious food including fresh fruit and veg for himself and his children; -money to buy himself and his children warm clothing. Please, if you have children, you will understand that a loving father would go above and beyond to ensure that his children are always happy and well fed, even if it means yourself having to go without. Donating to this fundraiser would mean so much to me and my friend. I would love to surprise him in the new year with a small gift of money so that he has some hope for a more brighter year ahead of him. Thank you for reading this, I hope you all have a great Christmas and wonderful new year and I hope that if you are ever struggling financially then you have friends who recognise your struggle and do what they can to help you out. And thank you in advance for any donations, big or small! It would all be a great help to my friend, he really deserves it for being such a loving father.