Fueling Hope for a Special Mom

When YWCA Advocate Karen Angel met Grace in the shelter and asked about her needs, the answer broke her heart.

“She told me she would like to have a little more food,” Karen said. “She had been skipping meals to make sure her kids had enough to eat.”

Karen showed Grace where to find supplies that YWCA clients were welcome to share – a wide variety of foods furnished by community donations.

The more she learned about Grace, including her struggles with an unreliable Ford Focus that barely fit her family of five, the more impressed Karen was by the young woman’s resilience, resourcefulness, and care for her kids.

So when the United Way asked for nominations of families whose lives would be improved by owning a reliable used car, Karen and Client Services Director Lana Bushman knew just whose name to put forward.

Grace and her family accepted the Honda Odyssey minivan at a holiday presentation at Underriner Honda of Walla Walla.

“Grace worked so hard for her family,” said Karen. “It was a joy to connect her with this gift and walk alongside her on the journey of building their new life.”