When I was six years old, my family fell on hard times just before Christmas. My dad had been laid off and my mother, the only working parent left in a household with three young children, had to undergo surgery as doctors searched for possible cancer. Her stay in the hospital left her unable to work.

Distraught at how our family would make it through the holidays, my mother told one of the nurses, “I can't afford to be sick.”

“We Won!”
As children, my sisters and I had no idea my parents were worrying about how to put food on the table, let alone buy us Christmas presents.

But that nurse told a social worker of our woes and our family was put on a list to get a Christmas hamper from The Salvation Army that year.

When my parents opened the door to the townhouse that we lived in at the time, they were faced with a cavalcade of food and gifts that left them overwhelmed.

I remember jumping as high as my young legs would take me, shouting “We won! We won! We won!” thinking our family had won the lottery. I didn't notice right away that my mother was crying or that my father was stunned.

Giving Others a Chance
I thought about that day as The Salvation Army's kettle campaign kicked into gear this year and how then, as now, the economy was leaving many families without jobs or a way to make ends meet around the holidays.

I think about how lucky my husband and I are that we are not in that position and our two children will have a Christmas with presents this year.

I thought about that this week as I gathered up money and toys for the campaign with my young son.
“What are you doing, Mommy?” he asked me.

“Giving someone else a chance to win,” I said.