Two single moms in the metro area were the recipients of helpful gifts in honor of Single Parent's Day on March 21.
Liz Santa Cruz of Flowery Branch and Kylia Whitehead of Lawrenceville were awarded gifts from Atlanta-based Georgia Pacific during the company's Angel Soft Single Parent's Day Campaign.
In a video shared on Facebook that has raked in more than 2 million views, the women got emotional when they found out they would be getting some assistance.
Cruz had struggled with finding quality daycare for her three-year-old daughter, so Angel Soft paid the cost of preschool for one year.
Whitehead, who is currently living in a friend's basement, has moved almost every year over the last 10 years to find the best home for her and her 11-year-old daughter. Angel Soft is paying Whitehead's rent for one year.
Here's the video:
The company also recognized a single dad from Louisiana who is raising his three-year-old son on his own by covering his childcare costs for one year.
There are 12 million single parents families in the U.S with 84 percent headed by single mothers and 16 percent headed by single fathers. Almost half of single mother households have an annual income lower than $25,000 while 39 percent of households headed by single dads have an annual family income of $50,000 or more. Annual childcare costs for center-based infant care is on average more than 40 percent of the state median income for single mothers.
Georgia-Pacific -- makers of brands such as Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, Brawny and more -- launched the campaign to bring awareness to the daily struggles of single parents while also honoring and helping them in a meaningful way. The campaign is the latest effort in the brand's mission to highlight all types of families.
“Being a parent is one of the toughest jobs in the world and those who do it alone are an inspiration to all of us,” said Karen Costello, Executive Creative Director, Deutsch in a statement. "We hope the gifts will provide some relief to these families, knowing their communities are rallying around them."
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