By Sheldon Spackman

It Takes A Village

Community rallies to support young mother and daughter

Sep 28, 2019 | 12:30 PM

It’s a heart-warming reminder that good people are doing good things in our community.

Monday night, Nicole Clarke noticed a Facebook post by a young mother saying she and her daughter were in need of help. They were hoping to go to The Mustard Seed for supper that night but were too afraid to go alone.

Clarke says she didn’t personally know the young woman and her daughter, but that she wasn’t alone in wanting to help.

“I just found an outpouring of support for her, a whole bunch of people just offering to help out,” says Clarke. “I just had the idea that it might be easier for everybody who wanted to help her, just to get her a gift card so she could go buy her own groceries.”

Clarke says many wishing to help made offers of food for the young woman and her daughter.

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“People were asking if her daughter needed anything, offering to bring her anything, it really touched my heart to see our community like that,” adds Clarke. “So I just thought of gift cards, it just kind of popped into my head. So I asked her just on the same thread, what store she preferred to shop at and she said Superstore and last I heard last night, there was over $200 sitting there for her.”

The young mother was grateful for the outpouring of support.

“The community has been so amazing and supportive, my heart is full with all the love and support,” says the young mother.

Clarke says she’s happy the young woman will now be able to buy her daughter some groceries.

“There’s so much bad that happens,” laments Clarke. “Just somebody simply asking for assistance to go somewhere, our whole community was on top of it. They were so willing to help her, it was truly heart-warming.”

Clarke says Red Deerians coming together to help others makes her feel proud of the community.

“To see everybody so willing to help out, it’s amazing, I don’t want our community to ever lose that willingness to help,” adds Clarke. “People said ‘I’ve been in that situation’ or ‘that was me 20 years ago’. “I’ve been in that situation myself – a young, single mom and struggling to afford to pay for everything, I’ve been there.”