When Virginia Mother of Five Fell On Hard Times, Her Community Stepped Up

A mother of five in Ashburn, VA, got more than she expected after opening up to a Facebook group about her desire to have snacks for her kids.

Shamika Foster fell on hard times during the pandemic after losing her job in March and learning of her fifth pregnancy, 11 Alive reported. While her husband made enough to pay the rent and bills, the small things became an expense they couldn’t afford.

The Loudoun County resident was on Facebook and decided to check out The Real Ladies of Loudoun County page.

“Someone made a post and they were like, ‘what [is] something that you wish you had that you can’t afford right now or that you’d like to have right now?'” Foster recalled.

“… so I was like, ‘Just snacks, snacks for my kids.’ Because, for us, it can be overwhelming with trying to get the things that they want, we get the things they need. All of a sudden, my inbox just went crazy.”

In just a few days, Foster’s family started to receive boxes of snacks, some of her kid’s favorites were even included.

“My favorite snack is Cheez-Its. I love Cheez-Its,” said Christianna Nano, Foster’s daughter.

The busy mom is beyond grateful for all the support from her community ahead of this holiday season.

“It’s been so, so wonderful and so overwhelming at the same time, like, I’m so grateful for this community. Because I’d never expected it to even go that far,” Foster said.

The help she received from the Facebook post inspired Foster to return to the group and offer her own services.

“So I was like, ‘Let me just go on and post and see if anybody will, like, want their hair braided or whatever.’ And, lo and behold, I got a lot of responses. Gosh, probably over 100,” Foster said.

Now the mother of five has a new sense of purpose from helping others in her community.

“It gives you a purpose, almost like, you feel like you’re able to do something for somebody else who may be going through the same thing,” Foster said.