She worries that she will never walk again.
“I was literally bedridden. I couldn’t hold my head up on my own. I had to relearn how to keep my balance.”
But for Dejanae Guest, her recovery from a near-fatal accident in July is not her main concern, but providing for her children.
“I work two jobs. Everything is fine for us. The bills are paid. Everything is fine, then in a blink of an eye, the days are tough, back to no work, the lights go out a few times,” Guest said.
The guest said her latest string of bad luck has left her choosing between paying the bills or buying presents for her two children this Christmas.
However, thanks to volunteers at the Adopt-a-Family Program of America, Guest doesn’t have to make that choice.
“I didn’t do anything to fix her problems. I didn’t change her life. But what I did do was build a bridge and get her life back to normal,” said Volunteer Coordinator Kim Salama.
In 2017, Guest said she became a teen mom after giving birth to her first daughter. To find a way to support her children, she turned to American volunteers for help.
“What makes me feel good is, you know, we’re supporting somebody and somebody doesn’t feel alone,” Salama said.
Fast forward to 2022, and the guest wants to give her children the ultimate Christmas.
“My family was adopted this year and it definitely helped me and my family a lot. It’s been amazing to me to be able to provide for family needs, books and those wonderful things that I can’t get myself.” I know Children should not miss out on growing up,” Guest said.
Thankfully, Guest said her family was adopted by GM, a surprise that brought her to tears.
“Put a smile on my daughter’s face, just make her happy and she doesn’t know how hard it is because she’s just a kid and they[brought it to her],” Guest said.
While Guest and her family will have a gift-filled Christmas under the tree, Salama said there are many other families waiting for their wishes to come true.
“A lot of these families, they know that if they don’t have a sponsor, their kids won’t be able to open anything,” Salama said.
The deadline to sponsor a family for this year’s Adopt-a-Family Program is Wednesday, December 21st.
To apply for aid, become a sponsor, or donate to the American Volunteer Association, click here.
