I was 21 when I experienced my first Christmas ever. Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, we didn’t celebrate holidays — no birthdays, no Christmases, no presents, nothing.

That can be hard on a kid, especially at school. While the other kids did all kinds of fun Christmas things, I had to sit at my desk, doing puzzles or something. It was just one more reason I was so unhappy and lonely as a child.

As I grew older, I started to rebel and left home at 18. Looking back, I really wasn’t ready to handle the world. I moved in with a boyfriend, we started having kids, and life just got harder. I had almost no job skills and a spotty work history. And by my late 20s, I was a single mother with four kids, spending more than half my paychecks on rent alone. I just kept falling further behind.

When I could no longer afford rent, I tried living with different family members. When that didn’t work, I had to live in motel rooms. I was running out of options and money.

Every year, I was determined to give my kids the kind of Christmases I never had — presents, treats, holiday music, and a tree full of decorations. But it got harder and harder.

By Fall 2016, my kids and I had nowhere else to go. I tried going to women’s shelters, but there was a waiting list, and I couldn’t wait. That’s when I came to Union Rescue Mission, and then Hope Gardens.

Last Christmas was the hardest.

I felt like a failure as a mother. The one real blessing was the Christmas Store at URM. Despite everything, I got to pick out gifts for my kids — gifts they loved. Gifts I got to give to them. Christmas was special after all.

Today, we’re all at Hope Gardens and our lives are finally looking up. We’re learning more about God and how to give everything over to Him. My children are blossoming in every way. I plan to get my GED and later go into the medical field.

With so many good things happening, I’m already looking forward to Christmas. It’s going to be special again. Not because of all the presents and decorations, but because we’re all together, healthy, and — just like the old Christmas movie — celebrating a wonderful life.

Thanksgiving and Christmas can be difficult for families experiencing homelessness. But for 27 years, Union Rescue Mission’s Christmas Store has brought joy into their lives when they needed it most.

This year, thousands of precious children at Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens Family Center will receive brand-new gifts because of the 27th annual Christmas Store.

On December 13, moms and dads with little or no income will enjoy the dignity of being able to provide their children with gifts they select themselves (for free) and give to their children personally.

All year-round, Union Rescue Mission embraces people with the compassion of Christ. And thanks to the Christmas Store — and generous friends like you — hundreds of families will find that new hope this holiday season.

No one ever plans to wake up on Skid Row on Christmas morning. While most people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with great gifts, great food, and loved ones, increasing numbers of men, women, and children on Skid Row face the prospect of spending the day with no food and not even a home.

But not at Union Rescue Mission. This Christmas, more families than ever before will spend the holiday at URM and Hope Gardens. But they will wake up with Christmas joy, thanks to generous people like you who remind those who are hurting that someone cares.

This holiday season, your generous gift of $25, $50, or more will help provide special holiday meals, clothing, shelter — and, yes, the gift of new life to hurting children and their families here at Union Rescue Mission.

So please send the most generous gift you can today. Thank you!