“They Change Lives!”

How your support saved Christmas for a struggling family.

As a little girl in Mexico, Marcella learned the meaning of compassion from her parents. Her father regularly took her to an orphanage to play with the children and bring a little cheer. And her mom took her to a nursing home to serve elderly people in her community.

“I always loved to help,” Marcella says. “My parents taught us to share. I learned about people who are less fortunate. And I learned to appreciate that.”

Fast forward to Marcella as a young single mom, an immigrant trying to raise three kids in the United States. She didn’t earn much as a caregiver, and when she lost that job, she worried about what would happen to her family.

Worst of all, Christmas was coming. Marcella could hardly afford to feed her kids, much less buy them gifts. One day, as she told her children there likely wouldn’t be any presents that year, there was a knock at the door.

It was a Salvation Army volunteer. They had heard about Marcella’s situation and came to her house, bearing gifts — and a complete turkey

dinner. Marcella soon started volunteering with the ministry, and now she’s on their payroll, working in human resources and bookkeeping.

“We’re committed to The Salvation Army,” she says. “They change lives!”

 

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