My daughter, Samantha , is a single mother of 2 little boys.  She supports them by herself with no child support at all.  Unfortunately her car broke down in August of this year and she was not able to repair it because it was too costly.  This shattered her world.  Because of having no vehicle she could not get the boys to daycare, nor could she get to work or pay her rent.  She lost her job.  She gave up her home and moved in with a friend.   I have tried to talk her into moving in with us but she does not want to impose.  So………………..she has lived since August supporting the boys on about $425 a month, which she receives because the father of the older child is deceased.  She has had an absolute refusal to get assistance until this summer.  She now only receives food stamps but wants that to stop.  She wants more than anything to go back to work.  She was also planning on going back to school in 2009 after the birth of her second son.  You can guess that it did not happen.  My daughter’s world revolves around those 2 little guys, age 3yrs  & 6 months.   I often say that if I am half as good a mommy as she is then I am happy with that.  Those boys think their mommy rules the world.  She always puts them first.  They never go without but mommy sometimes does.  Actually mommy usually goes without.  A reliable means of transportation for her would mean getting her life & her dignity back!!!  Even bigger than that though I believe having a car will give her back her sense of confidant parenting.  It would mean that she could drive to the hospital at 3:00 in the morning if one of the boys woke up with a fever .  It means taking the boys to the park just because she wants to.  She could work, get the boys to daycare, go back to school and move back out on her own.  No matter what happens this young lady holds her head high and smiles.  Her cup remains half full, rather than half empty, no matter how grim the situation gets.  Under normal circumstances my husband and I would just borrow the money to her and she could pay us back over time.  Unfortunately I was lucky enough to lose my job in January 0f 2009 and to then be diagnosed with cancer in June.  So, our finances are a lot tighter than usual and it just isn’t in our budget right now, and probably won’t be for quite some time.  I still try to help when I can.  Sometimes when I am at the dollar store I will pick up a few things for her, paper products or whatever.  When I present her with the care packages she cries.  She reminds me that she is an adult & doesn’t want anyone to be responsible for her & her boys but herself.  I believe that is a quality to be admired in this young lady.  She deserves a new start, and a reliable vehicle would be the beginning of that for her and her boys.  I want this family to have a new start more than I want to be cured of cancer!  Please help this wonderful young lady and her precious boys.