No Absence of Love: Jade’s Story

a delicate balance

To work as a childcare provider while raising kids of your own requires two things: a genuine love for children and a seemingly endless supply of energy. For Jade, 34 years old and a single mother of three, balancing the demands of her job with the demands of motherhood can be tough, but the rewards always outweigh the effort.

Still, love and energy only go so far. What happens when the people we trust to care for our children struggle to provide the basics for their own? Who provides for the provider?

Jade loves her job, despite the low pay. She adores children. She shows up every day ready to make a difference.

“I love kids—their imagination, their innocence,” she says. “I want them to keep that innocence as long as they can. If the one thing I can do is let a child be a child when they’re around me, I’m going to do that.”

But Jade knows that children’s needs must be met first.

“They should be fed, bathed, have clean clothes. That’s just the basics,” she says. “And that’s one thing I always want to make sure any child around me gets: You’re going to be fed. You’re going to be clean. If you have holes in your shoes, we’ll get you new shoes. We’re going to figure it out together to give you a good life.”

That drive to give every child a chance to grow and thrive is what fuels Jade’s passion —for the children she cares for at work and her own three at home. But like so many families who work hard and still face hunger and hardship, she often finds herself needing the same kind of support she gives so willingly to others.

Stretched Thin

“It’s one income, and I’m stretched thin making sure four people can survive,” she says. “The cost of living keeps going up. My kids’ needs, things they need at school—everything is so expensive. It’s tough making sure all the needs are met before any of the wants even get looked at.”

Like so many families, when every dollar and every meal matters, Jade is often forced to make difficult choices between bills and food.

“I ask myself, ‘When is this bill due? What’s the absolute last day I can pay it so I can go get groceries?’” she explains. “’This bill gives me 14 days, so let me go get food today and pay that later.’ That’s just the game you have to play because the bills always come.”

And food, Jade says, is the biggest monthly bill she has—and it never stops growing.

“You don’t make a lot of money in childcare,” she says. “I bargain-shop, I budget, but you can’t budget on $10 a meal for everybody unless you’re literally eating noodles every day. Everything is expensive—chicken, produce. Food is our biggest need.”

When a family is already walking a tightrope, an unplanned emergency can be devastating. Not long ago, Jade’s car was stolen. Getting it back blew a huge hole in her budget, but often it’s the predictable annual expenses that cause the most stress.

“Back-to-school is usually a really hard time,” she says. “So whenever I receive support with food and essentials, it’s very helpful. It’s a weight off my shoulders. I’m so thankful there are organizations like Feed the Children that help people who are struggling, who are hungry, who are just trying to get by.”

it starts with a meal

For Jade, receiving food and essentials from Feed the Children feels like an expression of the same fundamental humanity she offers the children in her care every day. She sees the effects of hunger and hardship at work just as clearly as she experiences them at home.

“I see it daily when kids come in crying, already hungry at 6 a.m., waiting for us to feed them,” she says. “They’re waiting for breakfast. They have holes in their shoes, holes in their clothes. I see it in their mood, their temperament.”

But everything changes after that first meal: “It’s like a relief for them—they can finally be children and go play,” she says. “They carry themselves so much better after a good meal. I know the importance of food. I know the importance of feeling safe. I see it every single day.”

Every single day. For the people at Feed the Children and for people like Jade—those trying to make a difference, trying to be the difference while relying on a little generosity along the way—every day is an opportunity to help and be helped. To give and to receive, in gratitude. To provide what needs to be provided.

For Jade, the reason is simple.

“It’s really important that when my kids wake up, they know I’m meeting their needs—that I’m doing something right in this world, and that thing is caring for them and putting them first,” she says. “All I want is for them to be good humans. To be grateful and kind, to learn new things and share them with others. My parents did a really good job, and I want my kids to see that love—even from a single parent. I want them to know there’s no absence of it.”