MAUMELLE, AR (KTHV) - A Central Arkansas community earns a spot in Hero Central for reaching out to a Maumelle mother and her seven kids.
All month long, donations have poured into the family's front door and the police department on their behalf.
The family's tough story first spread through word of mouth, then church and finally a newspaper report. It includes the father's suicide Thanksgiving weekend, a mother who lost her job nine days later and seven kids left without any Christmas presents. But with the community's overwhelming help, this family is now seeing hope in the New Year.
Squeezing onto the living room couch, we talk with Michelle Rasmussen and her seven kids. They are a big family from Maumelle who were hit by a big loss last month.
"I didn't have any hope; I didn't understand how to get up the next morning," Rasmussen said.
Her husband committed suicide over Thanksgiving weekend.
"We were going to put the tree up that night," Rasmussen said.
Days later, Rasmussen lost her job, cutting off the family's income until a knock at her door.
"I was just real shocked, real shocked when he came in with some envelopes and then I saw a glimmer of hope," Rasmussen said.
Police Chief Sam Williams delivered those envelopes for the "Maumelle 7." The department became a donation box of sorts, once the family's story got around.
"A lot of them had gift certificates, which could be used at Wal-Mart or local organizations and there was cash also involved in them," Rasmussen said.
The family has received about $6,000 in donations so far. There's also a new dishwasher in the kitchen and Christmas Angels. A neighbor bought gifts for all seven kids.
"I was upset that I was going to disappoint my children, but she made it possible," Rasmussen said.
It's bringing some needed fun for this family.
"I was thinking financially, even though it's not my part of the household, what we are going to do, I mean seven kids, big house, no income and I was really worried," Tyler Brown said.
But Tyler, the oldest of the seven is feeling calmer now.
"It's made the future look brighter; it all has," Tyler said.
"Love the community; Maumelle is phenomenal. I couldn't have got through it without the community," Rasmussen said.
There's been a lot more help, including a neighbor planning to pay the family's bills next month (about $3,000 there). After they lost their father, the family spent a week away. When they got back, they found fresh landscaping outside and a cleaned house inside with a packed fridge.
The mother says the family should be OK for the next couple months. If you want to help them out, you can still send donations to the Maumelle Police Department.