Updated: 11/19/2009 11:08:49 PM
The Mission of Hope Christmas Drive begins Friday with the goal of bringing 17,000 children and their families a Christmas.
Without the Mission of Hope, many of those children would go without presents, and even miss out on basic needs.
Recession hits the mountains hard
The economic downturn struck a crushing blow in Appalachia.
Take, for instance, the home of Tim and Ashley Day. The Christmas decorations inside are a cheery sight.
But Tim and Ashley have little promising news to celebrate these days. The parents of three children--aged three, two, and one--were given the decorations by a relative. They have no money to buy any.
They don't have money for much, after Tim recently lost his job and can't find another.
"Out hunting for jobs every day, putting applications in," Tim Day told 10 News.
"There's no work in this county," his wife Ashley said. "None."
Going without is nothing new to 23-year-old Tim and 20-year-old Ashley--they know what it's like to live without basic needs.
"When I had all three of my kids so close together, I had to have all my teeth taken out. And then couldn't afford to get the dentures to get my teeth put back in," Ashley said. "So, and my Tenncare just ran out."
Despite the Christmas decorations, right now, Christmas in the Day household is set to be just another day.
"Christmas is the least of my worries. It's everything else that needs to be paid. Your electric, your gas, your water. It all has to be paid, and you've got no way to pay it," Ashley said.
Tim and Ashley aren't alone. The nationwide economic downturn has put the poverty-stricken areas of the mountains in even worse shape, and families of Appalachia are suffering.
The area has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state of Tenessee, nearly 20 percent. It's when you put a face on those numbers when the enormity of those problems becomes apparent, the face of Tim Day who has no job, no prospects, no hope.
That's where the Mission of Hope steps in, with gifts, smiles, encouragement, best wishes, and prayers.
And it's in Appalachia where they're needed the most--not just the toys, the clothes, the food, but most of all, the gift of caring.
Because someone cares about Tim and Ashley and their three children, for them, there is hope.
The children of Appalachia
The poverty-stricken children of Appalachia are not hard to find: 15-year-old Sami, 13-year-old Sydney, and 9-year-old Jesse live with their single mother, in a homeless shelter.
They didn't want to live there. They didn't plan on it. But it's better than the alternative.
"Actually we stayed in a car one night," Sharon Brawner said.
Sharon and her three children had been living with her terminally ill mother, in her mother's house. Sharon came home from work late one night.
"I opened the door, and all I seen was smoke and flames, and I was screaming for Mom and Sydney and Jesse, and Sydney stepped out from the side of the house, and she said 'It's OK, Mommy, I've got 'em right here."
With nowhere to go except the car, Sharon found out about the homeless shelter. She was apprehensive at first but decided it was the only choice.
"It's been a real Godsend, let my kids be with me. I was terrified that they would take them, because I had no place to take them other than here," Sharon said.
Her mother died not long ago, and now Christmas is low on the list of priorities.
"I try not to think about it. And actually, I ask God to help," Sharon said.
Not far down the road, Tyra and Tamra live with their father Toby Jeffers, a single parent.
Their trailer is owned by Toby's parents, who live nearby. Toby doesn't pay rent or utilities.
That's good because Toby is disabled and can't work. There's very little money.
Asked if he's just getting by, Toby responded, "Barely, yeah.
He's willing to accept help, for the children.
"A parent will do anything for kids. There's not such a thing as pride," Toby said.
The needs of Toby and his daughters, Sharon and her children, they're not unusual in many areas of rural Appalachia.
"It's pretty much the norm. Most of the families, a large percentage of them are living in conditions like this, under circumstances such as these," said Ella Smith of the Morgan/Scott Project.
You can make a difference
Over the years, we've introduced you to some of the 17,000 children here in the mountains of Appalachia, where Christmas will only come true with the help of the Mission of Hope.
That can happen only with your help. Mission of Hope barrels are scattered throughout the community. We need you to help fill them.
Take your donations of non-perishable food items, toys, new clothes, and hygiene supplies to one of the blue barrels at various locations.
You can also find more information at http://www.missionofhope.org/.
