From today’s Tennessean:

Season to Give: Part of a continuing series

Cathy Steward says she makes $2.25 an hour as a waitress at a local meat-and-three restaurant.

She’s a single mom of five, who completed an addiction recovery program and is trying to stay clean and sober.

Without the help of a family resource center at her youngest child’s school, Steward said she would have struggled even more.

“We would have been out of food,” said Steward, 43.

“My youngest daughter was short on clothing so we had to wash them every night. They got her three new outfits and uniforms. They’re giving me a food basket for Christmas and one toy. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have anything. It’s been rough.”

Steward is one of scores of families who rely on the Bordeaux Northwest Family Resource Center at Bordeaux Elementary School to get by. The nonprofit’s core mission is to provide tutoring, but it also assists with clothing, food and referrals to other agencies for help with utility bills and more.

The center sponsors so-called coffee talks for moms and dads, during which they learn about nutrition, good parenting and the importance of education.

“Some of our students come to us hungry, some don’t have uniforms,” said Kenneth Jones, the center’s director.

“Kids are pretty resilient and they can get through situations, but I’m thankful that we have services for those who have fallen through the cracks.”

Jones said he has heard from a host of folks recently asking for assistance with rent and utility payments.

“We’ve had individuals calling for help who lost their jobs. They don’t know what to do and where to go. We don’t have money here, so we can’t help them directly, but I’ve been able to refer them to other agencies.”

Additional Facts
THE SERIES
The Tennessean’s Season to Give will run each day through Dec. 25 and features people helped by local charitable groups.