Click here to view thank you ad in The Gazette on January 20, 2013.

Again, thank YOU!

BY MATT STEINER

Tales of financial relief for a grandmother struggling to care for her three grandkids and another that had a 19-year-old who has been in and out of trouble finally getting his high school diploma highlighted the success stories that came out of The Gazette/ El Pomar Foundation Empty Stocking Fund for 2012-13.

For the sixth straight year, the fund exceeded its goal of raising $1 million. The tally was $1,033,313 as of Friday but was expected to increase because of last-minute donations and other money sent through the mail.

The money will be divided among 15 service agencies in the Pikes Peak region.

“The of donors throughout the entire Pikes Peak region is inspiring to see,” said Josie Burke, director of communications with fund sponsor The El Pomar Foundation. “We’re grateful to be a part of this effort that helps so many in need while encouraging participation from every corner of the community.”

Jerry Bruni, president of fund sponsor the Bruni Foundation, said the continued success of the 29-year old program “characterizes the depth of support in a very caring community.”

“That level in this most recent campaign is an extraordinary achievement,” Bruni said, noting the Colorado Springs area had several causes to support in 2012, including Waldo Canyon fire relief.

“People had to dig deeper than normal, and clearly they did,” he said.

El Pomar signed on to sponsor the fund in 1997, and Bruni joined the cause in 2000.

Gazette Publisher Dan Steever echoed the comments, saying, “This year has been particularly gratifying. We are really amazed and humbled by what the collective team, including donors, campaign partners, media partners and a host of others, has accomplished.”

The Empty Stocking Fund began as a small-scale holiday drive by E. Roy Smith, who was The Gazette’s publisher in 1984. The goal was to help needy families in Colorado Springs. The inaugural campaign brought in $50,000 in cash and goods.

The fund had its most successful year in 2008-09 when $1,320,000 was raised. Every cent donated goes directly to the supported agencies. Administrative costs are covered by the El Pomar Foundation and The Gazette.

The recipient agencies are: The American Red Cross of the Pikes Peak Region, Care and Share Food Bank, Ecumenical Social Ministries, Griffith Centers for Children Chins Up Youth & Family Services, Marian House and Catholic Charities, Mercy’s Gate (formerly known as Northern Churches Care), Partners In Housing, Peak Vista Community Health Centers, Pikes Peak Community Action Agency, The Salvation Army, Silver Key Senior Services, Southeast Family Center Armed Services YMCA, Tri-Lakes Cares, Urban Peak and Westside CARES.

Each agency has success stories based on what the fund has provided.

ELLIE COLE

Aaron Turner was barely 15 and a half years old when he left home, and he remained homeless for about two and a half years.

During that time, he went to Cedar Springs, a mental health center in Colorado Springs. He said he had nowhere to go, and Cedar Springs directed him to Urban Peak.

Turner, now 19, has been living at Urban Peak for about three months.

“It has given me a place to live,” he said, noting his appreciation for that. He said the agency also helped him understand that he can find a job and a better life for himself.

According to its website, Urban Peak helps youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless overcome challenges by providing crucial services and a safe community. The goal is to help young people become self-reliant adults.

Turner is now working to get his GED and find a job. He said it is difficult because he doesn’t have great credentials, but he plans to stay at Urban Peak until he can get his feet under him.

Turner said that Urban Peak is important in the community because there are many young people who have no place to go.

“It’s not easy,” he said. “Without Urban Peak, I would be homeless right now.”

ELLIE COLE

Rosetta Smith tries to avoid asking for help unless she is in dire need.

But her daughter was going through a difficult period in her life, and without asking, she left her three children with Smith.

“Caring for them was too much of a strain for myself,” she said. Even so, she said she always manages to meet the needs of her grandkids — with the help of Mercy’s Gate.

“If I don’t eat, they do,” she said. Smith has her own 12-year-old son and works full time on Peterson Air Force Base. She lives in a home with two bedrooms and two baths.

”We have no extra money for anything,” she said. Smith works to save a little money each week so that she and her grandkids can go skating, which they love to do.

“It’s hard to explain, though, that we need food,” Smith said. “We eat a lot of noodles. I dress it all up for them.”

In October, Smith went to Mercy’s Gate for help with rent.

“They are very nice people,” she said.

Mercy’s Gate provides food, clothing, assistance with rent and utilities, medical help, as well as spiritual and emotional care and support, according to its website.

Mercy’s Gate has helped Smith with food, rent and gas, and she said it always does whatever it can to help her and her grandkids.

“I love my grandkids more than anything in the world,” she said. “Mercy’s Gate has helped, and I can always call and say what I need.”

The most gratifying part of volunteering with the Pikes Peak Chapter of the American Red Cross for Tony Dallago is seeing the impact that he and the other volunteers can make on those in need.

According to its website, the American Red Cross relies on donations and volunteers from local individuals and corporate partners to offer its services, which include helping individuals and communities deal with disasters as well as offering support and education to those in need.

“Most people are not prepared to handle that kind of stressors,” Dallago said.

Dallago has volunteered with the Pikes Peak Chapter for 12 years, primarily working with the disaster action team. He worked during the Waldo Canyon fire, and he said his team was especially busy in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood.

The Red Cross works hard to get people going back to normal with their lives.

“The Red Cross helps use training and experience to help clients going through [these disasters] get back on their feet and going forward.”

He said the Red Cross can help ease stressful situations.

This can also be devastating, he said, because some people struggle with the disasters.

“The paperwork is easy,” he said. “But emotions are hard.”

He encourages people to give some of their time to the Red Cross.

“We need volunteers,” he said. “Ninety-nine percent of the people at the chapter level are volunteers.”

Vonzette Brown took a 16-hour bus ride from Texas to Colorado Springs to escape a bad relationship. She knew her sisters lived in the area, but she wasn’t sure exactly where they were. She needed to leave her home, though, and chose the Springs.

Brown started visiting Catholic Charities for lunches, and the agency helped her with not only food, but finding her spiritual connection in life, jobs, housing, and her sisters — who she says she will never lose again.

Brown said she couldn’t have made it without Catholic Charities.

“Every last one of them,” she said. “They were so helpful with anything.”

Brown has had some criminal troubles in the past, which made it difficult to find an apartment, but Catholic Charities stood by her.

“They opened their doors,” she said.

She said that this kind of help never comes from people who don’t know you — but it came from Catholic Charities.

Brown landed a couple of jobs. She walks to work at Bruegger’s Bagels for a 4:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. shift, and then heads to the Antler’s Hilton in downtown Colorado Springs to work until 10 p.m.

Brown credits Catholic Charities for so much of what she has.

“They’re like family,” she said. “I’m stronger now because of them.”

Nineteen-year-old Zach Ballenger said that he wasn’t doing well in school or society before he came to Chins Up. He was getting into trouble and was spending time in and out of the juvenile system.

He was put in a group home through Chins Up to finish high school.

According to its webpage, the Chins Up Center provides the unmet needs of children and teens in the Colorado Springs community. It is part of the Griffith Centers for Children, which was founded in Denver by a woman who believed each child should have a chance to have positive experiences and opportunities in their youth to lead to a more fruitful life.

“They provided me with a different outlook on life,” Ballenger said of the agency.

Ballenger graduated from high school and people at Chins Up helped him find his own place to live.

“They helped me get out and stay busy,” he said.

They also helped him find a job. Ballenger is a landscaper, and he has stayed out of the juvenile system for a while now.

That’s why he thinks it’s important for people to support Chins Up.

“Every little thing does help,” he said. “Literally everything.”

Click here to view thank you ad in The Gazette on January 6, 2013.

Please note that donations are still being processed and the next thank you ad will run on Sunday, January 20th.

Several of the dedicated individuals from the 15 recipient agencies say thank you too!

Please help us reach our goal of $1 million by donating today.

BY ELLIE COLE

On Nancy’s 45th birthday in October, she was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and lymph node cancer. She was already a widow and had two children — ages 7  and 20.

 “Immediately, your whole life changes,” said Nancy, whose real name is not being used to protect her privacy. “It’s been an experience that has been devastating for me and my children.”

 Her 20-year-old took  a break from college to care for her mother, who used to work fulltime in the auto industry until this diagnosis. She hates that her daughter has to help her because she is young, but she provides her transportation. Nancy also said that she must pick and choose what she can do with the money she has — and she may soon have to relinquish her car.

“I thought surely I can handle chemotherapy and work,” she said.

But she was wrong. Her first chemotherapy was on Nov. 17 and she said she has been seriously ill since then.

She also didn’t know how she was going to be able to pay her rent without working.

“I’ve never needed help before,” she said. “I’ve always been the one to donate. I’ve never been the one to receive.”

She applied for welfare, but she was denied and must wait until February to reapply. She then looked into Mercy’s Gate, and they were there for her.

“I’m lucky I’ve met people who actually care,” she said. “There are a lot of people worse off than I am, but in my situation, I feel tragic.”

Mercy’s Gate provides food, clothing, assistance with rent and utilities, medical help, as well as spiritual and emotional care and support, according to its website.

“They are there for you. They take you in and pray with you,” Nancy said. “They check in on you.”

Nancy said she is thankful for everyone at Mercy’s Gate.

“It’s the best organization going on in town right now,” she said.

“They give me hope I’m going to be OK. I have faith.”

 Click here to view thank you ad in The Gazette on January 1, 2013.

Please note that donations are still being processed and the next thank you ad will run on Sunday, January 6th.

Several of the dedicated individuals from the 15 recipient agencies say thank you too!

Please help us reach our goal of $1 million by donating today.