The holidays hold little but challenges for a Latrobe area man who toils as the sole breadwinner for his large but committed family.
For the time being, he has cleared the hurdle of having to find a new home for his wife and eight children - six in school and two who are younger.
But the cold fact remains that the money he brings home is not nearly enough.
"This family is just barely making it," explained David L. Means of the Salvation Army's Latrobe Community Worship Service Center. "The mother has to stay home with the little ones and the father is working, but it's rough. They just need some help."
The father, who is in his early 40s, earns a meager wage that's not sufficient to support even a small family, let alone eight kids. And Means said this family of 10 "is also often forced to move from one place to another, and they just had to move again. This time, they moved to Derry."
When times are hard, "sometimes the easiest thing for a father to do is to take off. It's the easy way out," Means admitted. "But, while this family is struggling, they are committed. These are the kind of people you really like to help. The ones who are really trying hard to make it."
Means said the service unit was "able to help them out this year through Project Bundle Up. They got winter coats for all the kids."
The family also will receive an Operation Santa Claus food basket, along with books and treats for the children.
This year Operation Santa Claus will provide Christmas dinner to 6,700 families and stockings to 8,400 children. Recipients are from a five-county area served by 25 Salvation Army units.
Each grocery bag contains the fixings for a complete holiday meal, including a gift certificate valued at $10 for a meat item of the family's choice. Also on the menu: scalloped potatoes, stuffing, green beans, whole-kernel corn, fruit-flavored gelatin, fruit cocktail, applesauce, blueberry muffins, snack crackers, holiday cookies and hot cocoa. Each stocking contains an assortment of sweets and treats including crayons and activity books suitable for children ages 12 and younger.
