Mother gets help while coping with pressures of caregiving, flood
A Midlands mother looking after her autistic daughter found the help she desperately needed after severe weather earlier this year damaged many of her personal belongings.
Julia Moorer is a single mother and primary caretaker to her 37-year-old daughter.
“I’ve been dealing with this for a long time,” she said. “It gets tiresome and things like that, but I just try to do the best I can.”
Moorer, a Columbia resident, said she has not been able to keep a full-time job that will allow her to accommodate her daughter’s needs. Because she has to look after her daughter, she depends on her daughter’s social services income to pay bills.
“The only income I have is her income,” she said. “That’s it.”
She currently is trying to become certified as a personal care assistant to help bring in more income.
But complicating matters, the Oct. 4 floods caused water damage to their home, and Moorer lost clothing, bedding and other items. She also faced significantly higher utility bills and was facing disconnections.
Moorer spoke to her daughter’s service coordinator about the spike in the cost of utilities while on a limited income, and she was referred to the Salvation Army.
The nonprofit, through its Woodyard Fund, paid the bill and kept the family’s utilities on.
“It helped a lot,” she said.
Moorer encouraged those willing to help make a difference in the lives of people in need to donate to the Woodyard Fund.
“If you can help, by all means help,” she said. “You never know, you may need that same help.”
The Woodyard Fund helps residents in crisis in Richland, Lexington, Fairfield and Newberry counties pay for utilities. The fund dates to 1816, when the Ladies Benevolent Society provided firewood and coal to families in need. In 1930, The State newspaper’s editor, William E. Gonzales, began publicizing the fund. It became a tradition the newspaper continues every winter.
Woodyard Fund
How to give help: Donations can be mailed to the Woodyard Fund, c/o The Salvation Army of the Midlands, P.O. Box 2786, Columbia, SC 29202. Make checks payable to the Woodyard Fund. All donations are tax-deductible.
How to get help: Area residents who need assistance with heating bills can call (803) 462-5093 for more information or to make an appointment for assistance.
Donations
Through Dec. 18
Anonymous, $100; Rebecca C. Thies, $80; Frank Glenn Rutter and Carrell L Rutter, $50; Anonymous, $250; Robin Glenn and Eddie Elaine Glenn, $10; Anonymous, $50, in memory of John and Frances Tollner and $50, in memory of George and Ruby Nichols; M. Elizabeth Taylor, $100; Anonymous, $100; Anonymous, $100; Lt. Col. Ret. Ronald H. Combs and Phyllis D Combs, $50; Palmetto College at USC, $100; William G. Dukes and Carol E. Dukes, $50; Robin Glenn and Eddie Elaine Glenn, $10; Angela M. Render, $100, in memory of Lois C. Suggs; Y.M. and Carolyn K. Miller, $100; Darrel R. and Marie B. Tinch, $100; Anonymous, $500; Joan M Ballew, $100, in honor of family; Carl B. Freedman and Naomi L. Freedman, $50; William F. Donahue Jr., $100; Scott and Christine Culley, $500, in memory of Gregg Culley; Terreni Law Firm, LLC, $100; H. Patterson and Garland P. McWhirter, $1,000; The Sarah Group of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Columbia, $300; Harrison Rearden, $100; A.G. Behles, $100, in memory of Lucy H. Behles; Mr. and Mrs. Warren Christmus Jr., $100., in memory of our parents; David Smoak, $100, in memory of Mary Smoak; The Church Women of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Congaree, $150; St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, $25; Anonymous, $1,000; William and Deborah Dozier, $100, in memory of Teresa Dozier; Drs. C.E. and Sure Hardin, $100, in memory of our daughter Deborah Hardin Davis; Edward and Vicki Bignon, $250, in memory of our daughter, Jennifer L. Bignon; S. Valder, $100 in memory of Sue; Marshall and We Three Class Asbury Methodist Church, $100; David Park, $500, in honor of my colleagues at Colonial Life; Betty Thompson, $100; Barbara Berry, $100; Charles and Sue Jennings, $50; Rebecca Fellas, $30; Alfred and Linda McGarry, $150; Norman Flynn, $50; Thomas Edmunds and Lucy Edmonds, $500; Anonymous, $100; Eugene and Lois Green, $100; John and Pamela Spurrier, $100; Karen and Timothy Bennett, $50; Warren Christmus III, $100; Col. (Ret) George and Ally Inabinet Jr., $100; Jerry Burton, $75; Thomas Ballard, $100; Thomas and Nell Rabon, $100; William and Suzanne Amick, $1,000; William and Amanda Westerkam, $1,000; L. Strom and Betty Bailey, $50; James Bass, $200; Christopher and Dianne McGreevy, $1,000; William Dent, $100; Jean Bridges, $100, in memory of my mother Margaret E. Rhinehart;; Anonymous $50; Walter and Jean Hendrix, $50, in memory of our parents; Juanita F., Charles E. and Thomas Cousins, $50, for Charlie and Neet Cousins; T.E.L. Sunday School Class of Trinity Baptist Church, $50; Anonymous, $20; Mackenzie Higbe, Anna Johnson, and Nyal Johnson, $75; Donna Sample Pearman, $40; Frances H. Gibbes, $40; Robert J. and Cynthia Z. Dew, $25; Margaret R. Buchanan, $25; Sally M. and Russell W. Templeton, $50; Angela M. Render, $100; Ann D. Bowman, $50; Charles W. and Marcia W. Jacocks, $50; Edith Barnette McNeish, $500; Evelyn L. Clamp, $100, in memory of James Clamp; Gloria S. Preslar, $25; John Bigham Men’s Bible Class at Centennial ARP Church, $200; Mr. and Mrs. G. Brown, $100, in memory of sister, son, and two grandsons; Virginia W Weathers, $100; Bobbie McCandlish, $100; Robert B. Rogers, $25; Dr. William G. Taylor, $800; Anne W Boylston, $300, in memory of my family; Jane M. and Earl W. Keller, $100; Kyle and Company PC, $500; Anonymous, $30; Mr. and Mrs. John S. Watts, $250; Don Fulmer Jr and Becky R. Fulmer, $50; William and Grayson Jackson, $100, for Nessa; Nela F and John E Balling, $200; C. and S. Bush, $100; Women Cooperative Mission Union, $200; Robert O. Bartlett, Fred L. Bartlett, Margaret B. White, $75; Our Lady of the Hills Catholic Church, $200
Weekly total: $16,760
Total to date: $32,010