About The Gift of Joy

If the days of quintessential family life like “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” ever actually existed, they are certainly long gone. Today, with the increased cost of housing, expected and unexpected child expenses, such as back to school supplies, healthcare, uniforms, field trips and friend’s birthday parties, many families struggle to make ends meet. This is especially true for single parent families.

 In 2020 nearly 19 million children, amounting to 25 percent of all children in the U.S. were living in single-parent families.  That is nearly three times the level in 1960.  We here in the U.S. are three times above the worldwide level of 7 percent…Moreover, for single parents, it’s not just making ends meet, it is trying to find enough hours in the day to accomplish all the tasks that are integral to good parenting.  A typical day for a single parent may look something like this: Get the kids up and ready for school, make lunches, work all day, come home and start the laundry, start dinner, help with homework, get the kids ready for bed, read them a story and finally, straighten up the house. After all is done, the parent collapses on the couch, and because of the stress of providing the necessities, she or he is unable to enjoy their family.

Giving this somewhat daunting scenario and the financial stresses that sometimes send single parents to the economic breaking point, a caring and innovative single parent came up with the Gift of Joy Foundation.

 Kathleen J. Suite, raised 3 of her 4 children as a single parent family, when she wanted to contribute to an organization that would benefit these families, it was difficult to locate any organization that didn't have administrative fees.  She wanted 100% of her contributions to reach the hands of the Single Parent. In 2003 she founded the Gift of Joy Foundation and developed a program that would fit that model.  

The Gift of Joy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) IRS-designated nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, Federal Tax ID 33-0490504. All donations to the Gift of Joy Foundation are tax deductible.

[1] Source: U.S. Census Bureau: March 2002 Current Population Survey.