L O C A L   N E W S

Tue, December 10, 2002
Baby's illness puts single mom in bind

   When Tiffany's 2-year-old began having seizures, it scared the family half to death for something so unnatural to be happening to someone so small.
   A divorced mom, Tiffany took off from work for what she thought would be a few days, days she had coming with pay under her company's personnel policy.
   But doctor visits and getting medications straightened out caused the days to turn into a couple of weeks.
   Then, more tests revealed that not only did the child have a problem causing seizures but also was diabetic.
   A few weeks turned into several.
   Fortunately, Tiffany could fall back on the Family Medical Leave Act.
   In one way, it helped her out: the law requires a business owner to allow an employee to have a leave of absence of up to 12 weeks in case of illness or to care for a family member who is sick for an extended period of time. At the end of the 12 weeks, the worker gets his or her job back.
   Unfortunately, there's a catch: You don't get paid for the time taken off.
   Tiffany ripped right through her savings to stay in her own apartment as long as possible, but ultimately she had to move in with her dad because she just had no income at all.
   That left her with just one bill to pay -- about $300 to keep her car, a necessity to get the baby back and forth from doctor to doctor and to home and, eventually, to get her to and from work.
   With no other place to turn for help, Tiffany found her way to the Salvation Army, which doesn't have funding to handle such requests.
   The Salvation Army social workers verified Tiffany's circumstances and then referred her case to Times Charities, a nonprofit organization established 12 years ago to help people like Tiffany.
   With the help of Times Charities, she was able to make her car payment.
   Thanks to generous donors, Times Charities was able to help more than 200 other families in similar straits during 2002. Because the need is growing in Wichita Falls, the Times Charities board hopes to raise more than $50,000 during this year's Christmas-season appeal to help families next year.
   The Salvation Army, Interfaith Ministries Inc. and Faith Mission provide intake verification for people who might be eligible for Times Charities' assistance. Every nickel raised by Times Charities goes directly to those in need because the newspaper, which operates the organization, pays overhead expenses.
   Gifts to Times Charities are tax-deductible.
   Please consider a donation this year. Gifts may be in the form of checks or money orders, which should be made payable to Times Charities and sent to P.O. Box 120, Wichita Falls, TX 76307. Or they may be dropped by the newspaper's downtown offices at 1301 Lamar St. across from the Kemp Center for the Arts. Credit-card donations may be made by calling Frances Tate at 720-3490.
   Names of those who donate will be published in the paper, unless anonymity is requested.
   Mathis, West & Huffines Inc. PC audit the organization's books.
  
  

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