Cheer brigade needs help

by staff reports, Madison Record
(Updated: Friday, December 5, 2008 5:11 PM CST)

The city of Madison, in conjunction with the local National Guard and Army Reserve, is asking for your support to make this holiday season a happy one for soldiers and their families.

Last year alone, the city’s Holiday Cheer Brigade made an impact by collecting more than $10,000 in money and gifts for 11 military families in the Tennessee Valley. Gifts and other expressions of gratitude will be collected at Madison City Hall on 100 Hughes Road from now until Dec. 17.

The Cheer Brigade team will then wrap and deliver all of the gifts to the families Dec. 19.

Appropriate gifts, gift cards, and cash are all appreciated. Contributions can be made to a particular family or families, or can be undesignated. Any check donations should be made payable to the City of Madison.

The city aggregates the money for each family and issues a city check to them. Families are designated as Alpha, Bravo, etc., to preserve their anonymity.

For more information, call the mayor’s Office at 772-5603.

Family Alpha. Soldier came back from deployment and was told his job no longer exists. He has three young kids: a daughter, 10, a son, 5, and another daughter, age unspecified. His wife takes care of their elderly sick parents. He is working odd jobs to stay in their home and feed the family.

Family Bravo. Father does not have a job, mother works for Volunteers of America. They have a 3-month-old baby boy. They barely are making enough to get food for the family. Fellow soldiers have made collections to help them. They are in need of tires for their car.

Family Charlie. A dad with five children. He works at Dominos delivering pizzas. Family has a 15 years old girl, 6-year-old boy with autism, 3 year-old-boy, 2-year-old-boy and 4-month-old girl.

Family Delta. A single mom with two young boys, 9 and 4. She is spending much of her income on day care.

Family Echo. A single mother and is expecting a second child. Her son is 2. Additionally, she has just taken custody of her youngest brother, 17. Her daycare expenses and additional expenditures for the teenagers are placing a strain on her budget. She often sacrifices so the boys will have basic needs. With money being tight, she wishes to provide a nice Christmas for her son and her brother.

Family Foxtrot. A single mother of two, daughter, 7, and son 2. She recently moved into their new home to accommodate her and her children. She is working but her income is just enough to cover the bills. She is struggling to making ends meet and needs assistance to help make Christmas for her children.

Family Hotel. A father of three is working two jobs and struggles to make ends meet. His wife is a stay-at-home mom and takes care of their son, 2, and daughters, 5, and 4 months.

Family Indigo. A single parent and mother to a son, 16. Her son is doing well at school and excels at being an athlete. Due to a tight budget, she is often faced with not being able to provide adequate support for her son’s needs. She wishes to give her son his first real Christmas in many years.

Family Juliet. A single mother with 2 year-old child. She is struggling to make ends meet for her and her child.

Family Kilo. Wife is battling illness causing expenses to mount.

Family Lima. She is married with two daughters 8 and 10. Money is tight for gifts for Christmas.

Family Momma. A single parent with child 16-months-old. Day care expenses make it difficult to save money for Christmas.

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