THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 16, 1994 TAG: 9412150215
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 209 lines
SEEKING A BETTER LIFE, one free of youth gangs and rampant crime, Christina Smith, her husband and six children moved from the suburbs of Denver to Virginia Beach last year.
Life was good for a few months. The oldest four kids were in schools where Smith didn't fear for their safety. Her husband, Mark, had a job driving a delivery truck for a water company. Christina Smith stayed home to raise the two youngest children.
They didn't have money to spare, but they were making it.
Then one rainy day in March, Mark Smith slipped off the back of the truck and injured his back and hand. He has not worked since. Instead, he's been in daily therapy, collecting less than half of his normal salary in workmen's compensation.
After paying rent on their three-bedroom ranch house in Elizabeth River Shores, the Smiths have $136 left each month to buy groceries and pay for utilities.
``It's tough right now,'' Christina Smith said, while breaking up a tussle between 2-year-old Brieonna and 3-year-old Joshua. ``We're real behind on the bills. We're behind on the rent. I don't know if they'll tell us to leave. We have to rob Peter to pay Paul.
``It's scary.''
Christina Smith's worries are only compounded by Christmas. Most of her children aren't old enough to understand why Santa may skip their house this year.
That's why she swallowed her pride and signed up for Holiday Project, run by Virginia Beach's Department of Social Services. Holiday Project matches needy families with sponsors - churches, businesses, organizations and even other families - who volunteer to provide gifts, food and other assistance at Christmas.
About 800 families have been adopted so far. Another 350 to 400 families are awaiting a sponsor. Families like the Smiths; and Daphne Pitt, a single mother of two; and the Cookseys, who raised seven children and now are raising two grandchildren.
Through Holiday Project, Christina Smith hopes someone will grant her Christmas wish - presents of clothes and shoes, and maybe even some toys, for her children.
``For me, I want to see my kids happy,'' Smith, 30, said. ``I'm too old for Christmas. It's for my kids now.''
She has another Christmas wish, one that won't fit into a festively wrapped package.
``I'd love for my husband to get better and go back to work and make a normal living, but I know no one can help us with that.''
Christina Smith, who worked in Colorado as a waitress while her sister watched her kids, said she can't find a job here that pays enough to afford day care.
Last month, the Smiths got some help when Mark's 86-year-old grandmother came to live with them. Nana helps watch the kids and has helped with some household expenses.
``When I feel bad about asking for help,'' Christina Smith said, ``my Mom reminds me that there may be a time in my life when I'll be able to help someone else.''
Others more fortunate can adopt a family like the Smiths this Christmas through the Holiday Project. The program matches callers with someone in need. The caller can work directly with the family, determining what they want and need and delivering Christmas gifts to their home.
Or callers can donate food, toys, clothes or money directly to Holiday Project, which will distribute the items to families who have not been adopted.
Families on Holiday Project's list are all current Department of Social Services clients who receive some type of aid, such as food stamps, Aid to Dependent Children or Medicaid.
Daphne Pitt, a single mom, represents another family in need this Christmas. She and her two sons, 6-year-old Demetrius and 5-month-old Darius, moved in with her mother earlier this year after she left her job while pregnant with Darius.
``I'm sitting at home and that bothers me because I could be working,'' Pitt said. ``But no one pays enough to support two kids.''
Pitt, more than anything, wants to leave Virginia Beach and get a fresh start in a new city and support herself and her boys.
``That's my goal and my determination,'' said Pitt, 25, who plans on finishing a computer course at Computer Dynamics Institute that she started before getting pregnant.
The Cookseys are also in need of a sponsor for Christmas. After raising seven children of her own, Florence Cooksey again is raising kids. This time it's two of her 18 grandchildren.
Not only has the new family situation strained her budget, but it also has strained her 22-year marriage. She and her husband, Clarence, are separated, but because of financial reasons they're still living together in their Glenwood home in Kempsville.
The first new addition to Cooksey's home was 2 1/2-year-old Yoshelle, her stepgranddaughter who was born with cerebral palsy and cannot hear or speak. She's lived with her since birth.
``Her mom came to me and said the doctors said she'd never crawl, never walk and never do nothing. She said please raise her for me,'' Cooksey said.
Cooksey nicknamed her Thumbelina because she was 4 pounds 7 ounces at birth. By 1 1/2 years, Cooksey had her crawling and on Thanksgiving Day last month, she started walking.
Then earlier this year, Cooksey's daughter returned home with physical and emotional problems that made her unable to care for herself or her children. Cooksey got legal custody of her 14-year-old granddaughter, Quinsata.
``I feel my daughter has had a big disappointment in life,'' Florence said. ``I have the strength and willpower to help her out.
``We're all family,'' she said. ``We need to stick together and help each other out.''
The Cookseys' financial problems started about four years ago when Clarence retired from the Navy and had trouble finding work. Florence Cooksey wasn't making much money as a cook. New bills started rolling in on top of old bills, as she had to bury her oldest son, who was murdered, and her mother, who died the same year.
The couple declared bankruptcy.
Clarence Cooksey eventually did find work. But Florence Cooksey left her job as a cook with a church preschool because they wanted to cut her pay when the school started losing money. Then she started working for a restaurant chain, but left last week because the demands were greater than the 52-year-old grandmother could handle.
Florence Cooksey's surroundings - her new, middle class suburban home, her nice furniture, her dining room table already set with holiday china for Christmas, her Christmas decorations - are startling reminders of better financial times.
Cooksey says it has been 22 years since she's had to ask for help or get public assistance.
``There ain't nothing under the tree, but we got the joy in our heart,'' she said, admiring the tree someone donated to the family.
``Christmas means the most to me of all the holidays I think because I was born the day after Christmas,'' Cooksey said. ``I'd like to see gifts under the tree, especially for Thumbelina. Whatever we get, I'll be thankful for.
``But if we don't get nothing, we'll be happy. We'll sing our Christmas carols and say our prayers anyway.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Daphne Pitt, a single mom, and her two sons, 6-year-old Demetrius
and 5-month-old Darius, moved in with her mother earlier this year
after she left her job while pregnant with Darius. Pitt, 25, plans
to finish a computer course at Computer Dynamics Institute that she
started before getting pregnant.
Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Florence Cooksey, 52, a grandmother of 18, is helping care for
Quinsata Kimbrough, 14, left; Yoshelle Cook, 2; Charles Cook and
Donna Chambers. ``There ain't nothing under the tree, but we got the
joy in our heart,'' Cooksey said, admiring the tree someone donated
to the family.
Staff photo and color cover photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Christina Smith, pictured with her six children - Brieonna, 2;
Joshua, 3; Christopher, 8; Anika, 10; Jeremiah, 11; and Donald, 13 -
on the cover, gets some loving from Brieonna. Her husband, Mark, has
been out of work since March after a job injury.[color cover photo]
Christina Smith holds her youngest, Brieonna, while the other five
children catch a little home entertainment. ``We're real behind on
the bills. We're behind on the rent. I don't know if they'll tell us
to leave. We have to rob Peter to pay Paul. It's scary,'' says
Smith, 30.
HOW TO HELP
To adopt a family for Christmas, call Holiday Project coordinator
Joyce Harrison at 431-5375.
Donations for families who have not been matched can be dropped
off at the Holiday Project office, 397 Little Neck Office Park,
Building 3300, Suite 116.
The mailing address, for making cash donations, is Holiday
Project, c/o The Virginia Beach Department of Social Services, 3432
Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, Va. 23452.
Direct Assistance
JOY FUND: Sponsored by The Virginian-Pilot/
Ledger-Star. Cash donations accepted. Vouchers for toys or
clothing are in turn given to underprivileged children. Mail
contributions to VPLS Joy Fund, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va.
23510 or drop off cash or check at the Beacon Building, 4565
Virginia Beach Blvd.
CHRISTIAN ACTION: Volunteers needed to serve a free Christmas
dinner from 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 25 at the Open Door Chapel, 3177
Virginia Beach Blvd. Call 461-7249.
NAVY-MARINE CORPS RELIEF SOCIETY: Needs people to donate one
morning or afternoon per week to help other military families. Call
423-8830.
BIKES FOR TIKES: Sponsored by Operation Blessing and A-1 Beach
Bikes. A-1 Beach Bikes will fix up used bikes that Operation
Blessing will deliver to children who otherwise might not receive a
Christmas present. Bikes can be brought to A-1 Beach Bikes, 4702
Virginia Beach Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday
and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Pedal Power at Hilltop North
Shopping Center and Bike Stop at Dam Neck Shopping Center are also
accepting bikes. Call 497-7971.
TOYS FOR TOTS: Sponsored by Applebee's restaurant and the Marine
Corps. Toy donations accepted daily through Dec. 24 at Applebee's,
4040 Virginia Beach Blvd.
ADOPT-A-FAMILY: Mental Retardation Programs of Virginia Beach
needs businesses and individuals to help indigent families. Call
Sheila Bogart at 473-5223.
ANGEL TREE: Sponsored by Lynnhaven Mall and Salvation Army.
Shoppers take an angel off a tree in the lower movie theater wing
and buy Christmas presents for the child and then return the gifts
to the tree.
BASKETBALLS AND TEDDY BEARS: Sponsored by Mothers Inc.
Basketballs and teddy bears are being collected for needy kids. Drop
off new, unwrapped gifts at Mothers Inc., 417 16th St., or Princess
Anne Inn, 25th Street and Atlantic Avenue. Or send $10 per toy
request. Call 491-2887.
by CNB