EMPTY STOCKING FUND: Charity lends a hand to mom of 3

Making $7 an hour at her bakery job, Zahkila was barely pulling in enough to pay her $700 rent and support her three children.

She was $100 short on rent one month, served an eviction notice and fined $100 in late fees. She didn't have the $200 to give her landlord.

"It's hard when you're the working poor," she said. "I had to come up with $200 or I was going to lose my home. It's cold outside. Where would we go? I don't have any family here. I was panicking."

Only her first name is being used to protect her privacy.

Zahkila went to Northern Churches Care, one of 14 area nonprofit agencies receiving grants from The Gazette-El Pomar Empty Stocking Fund. The agency paid the $200 she needed to keep her home.

Northern Churches Care works with area churches to provide emergency and financial assistance to families in need. It also assists with rent, utilities, transportation, counseling, legal advice and health care.

Zahkila was surprised again by Northern Churches Care when staff showed up at her home the day before Thanksgiving with a holiday meal for her and her children, ages 2, 7 and 9.

The meal included a 16-pound turkey, bread, potatoes, fruit and a pie.

"It was breathtaking. They said, ‘We wanted to do something for you,'" Zahkila said.

She hopes to be able to pay back the $200 when she gets caught up. Northern Churches Care also helped her find a new job that pays about twice as much as her bakery job did.

As a way to thank them, Zahkila is volunteering at Northern Churches Care this month.

"They helped me, and I'm so grateful to them for that," she said. "I can't even explain what it meant when they said they'd help. I just cried and cried. I couldn't believe it."

DETAILS

To make a secure online donation, go to www.fillanemptystocking.org. Call 476-1673 to make a credit card or stock donation over the phone. Checks can be made payable to the Empty Stocking Fund and mailed to P.O. Box 400, Colorado Springs, CO 80901.