Health problems have forced a Blythe woman to quit her full-time job, but she still would like to provide some Christmas presents for her 4-year-old son.

"My mother and my son's father passed away before he was born and I have really had to struggle," she writes. "I have been unable to give him the Christmas he deserves these past few years, and things look the same this year.

"He's getting old enough to understand about being poor, and it hurts that I can only do so much."

The Augusta Chronicle 's Empty Stocking Fund has helped people for 78 years. Last year, a record-breaking $123,000 was raised, helping more than 1,776 families.