The holiday season is a time of joy for children. For years, Hope Cottage has found generous partners to provide gifts to Hope babies in Infant Adoption, Foster Care, and Parenting Support. We try to make the holidays magical for all of our children. We also usually ask for gift cards to give to families with toys for children, because we can’t meet every need, and families need to make gift giving decisions for themselves.

This year, the “Empty Mom Stocking" went viral on social media. Several of the mothers we work with asked for a single gift for themselves. One wanted a mop. One wanted a youth bed for her child. These are needs we could easily accommodate.

One young mother of five wanted a coffee table. But Hope Cottage does not have resources for home furnishings. Although we had given Christmas gifts for her children, we did not have a coffee table and were not sure where to start to source one.

We turned to our friends at Dwell with Dignity, an interior design nonprofit whose mission is “is to help families and communities escape poverty, homelessness, and social injustice through design; one household, one gathering space, and one marketplace at a time.”

Dwell with Dignity responded immediately to our request and provided a coffee table for our mother. The Dwell with Dignity staff carried the coffee table out to our Parenting Case Manager’s car so she could deliver the coffee table to our client’s home. Thanks to the generosity of our community partners, this mother can enjoy a coffee table for her home and family. Her “stocking” was not empty.

At Hope Cottage, we are privileged to work with community partners and allies who understand and support our mission and who step up to support our community members. We are grateful for the countless people who join us in our mission to support families in North Texas.