By Po Li Loo
The Gazette
CEDAR RAPIDS — Caleb, Cory and Caben stuffed Scooby- Doo chewy candies into their mouths as their mom, Amber McKinney, responded to each kid’s request.
McKinney, 26, of Cedar Rapids, said taking care of three kids alone is no easy feat after working 40 hours a week for less than $7 an hour at Wendy’s.
But for two years now, she has been able to take a few hours off around Christmastime to spend $50 on each of her kids, whose ages range from 2 to 4. She moved here from Sioux City three years ago.
‘‘I think it’s awesome. It helps people like me, who don’t do welfare or child support,’’ she said. On Saturday, McKinney’s kids were among 350 children who benefited from the annual Community Christmas Party organized by the Homeless Children’s Trust, a non-profit organization under the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program. There were 180 served in Cedar Rapids and 170 in Iowa City.
Families in Linn, Johnson, Washington, Iowa, Benton and Jones counties could attend at the AEGON cafeteria in Cedar Rapids or the Moose Lodge in Iowa City.
While parents shopped for presents with a companion, kids played Twister, did arts and crafts, and slapped high-fives with Ricochet, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders’ mascot.
Destiny McKinzie, 32, said HACAP programs — such as the trust’s event — were allowing her to do what she wants to do while raising four, and soon, five kids. She is five months pregnant.
McKinzie, who’s originally from Lincoln, Neb., had worked as a certified registered nurse for 12 years in Iowa, Missouri and North Carolina before she decided to pursue her passion of working for a radio station. When McKinzie first moved to Cedar Rapids, she found temporary housing at the shelter. And now in HACAP housing, she doesn’t have to pay for utilities while — with the help of financial aid — she attends Kirkwood Community College.
‘‘I’ve traveled a lot. This is the only state I know that has programs like that,’’ she said. The trust is funded through private and corporate donations. Its main corporate sponsor is Rockwell Collins, which donates about $20,000 each year. The funds go toward the Christmas event, and buying school supplies and other necessities for the children at other times of the year, said Mary Fielder, president of the Homeless Children’s Trust.
Contact the writer: (319) 398-8240 or poli.loo@gazettecommunications.com
For more information on the Homeless Children’s Trust, call Mary Fielder at (319) 270-3583. Donations can be mailed to the Homeless Children’s Trust, P.O.Box 490, Hiawatha, IA 52233.