Hometown Holiday Helpers: Answered prayers for a single mother in Hillsville

HILLSVILLE, Va. (WDBJ) - The Christmas season brings a lot of excitement when walking into a store. The lights, the smells and all the Christmas trees. However, for some, it can bring to light the reminder of not being able to afford Christmas. That’s where Hometown Holiday Helpers steps in!

Delivering good news to our Hometown Holiday Helper was anything but easy, but anything is possible with a pair of dedicated elves! Melissa and Logan’s selection was a single mother in Hillsville named Cheyenne Phipps, and after calling her cellphone, finding her on Facebook and calling her work, we finally got to deliver the good news.

“Every Christmas we give away $700 to someone who could use it and someone has nominated you to be the winner of $700 for Hometown Holiday Helpers,” said Melissa over the phone.

Talking through tears, Cheyenne responded, “I really needed it, I’m kind of in a hard spot right now. Thank you guys.”

It was a drive up to Hillsville but we were eager to get this money to a much deserved Cheyenne and her 1-year-old daughter, Harper. Cheyenne recently left an abusive relationship and life has been tough for this young single mother.

“For Harper’s safety, I didn’t want her to hear the yelling, and to watch that, I just didn’t want her to watch it because she don’t deserve that. No child does. I’m a single mom and I’m responsible for all the bills and all the payments and making sure that Harper has everything that she needs,” explained Cheyenne.

Her mom, Debbie, is also her best friend and helps care for Harper during the day while Cheyenne works trying to make enough money so her baby girl doesn’t have to go without, especially on Christmas.

“It’s just been a hard few months and there’s been a lot of changes for me and Harper. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to afford Christmas. Me and mom went to the store a few weeks ago and they had all their Christmas stuff up and I just looked at it and thought, I don’t know how I’m going to be able to afford it,” said Cheyenne.

And just like grandmas are supposed to do, Debbie decided to intercede for her only child and her only granddaughter. Debbie says she begged Jesus for a Christmas miracle.

“You always want the best for your children, and I just prayed and prayed and prayed. I’m thankful, you all don’t know how much I’m thankful. Whether she wins the lottery or whether she don’t have a pot to pee in, I love her and I’m proud of her and I’m her mom and I’ll stand behind her,” said Debbie.

Cheyenne Phipps and her little girl, Harper, are our pick for 2022′s Hometown Holiday Helpers!

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