This past year has been especially difficult for Angela Doesher.

The 45-year-old single mother in Bend contracted COVID-19 in March and still has trouble breathing nine months later. She was diagnosed with asthma and has to be on oxygen. Her weakened condition makes it hard to care for her 13-year-old son, Stryder, who suffers Autonomic Dysfunction, a potentially life-threatening illness that impedes movement, heart rate and speech.

Doesher’s struggles made her an ideal candidate for the Jingle Christmas Makeover, a new program from the Giving Plate food pantry in Bend that is helping 10 families fulfill their Christmas wishes in 2020.

She had felt helpless thinking about how she would make Christmas special for her son. Stryder’s only wish this year was to redecorate his bedroom into a place better suited for a teenager. Instead of the childhood toys he had outgrown, he wanted his room full of his own furniture.

But Doesher didn’t have the money or energy to make the wish come true. A few weeks ago, Stryder’s visiting nurse told Doesher about the new program that invited families in need to apply to be sponsored by a donor and win $2,500 to make the holiday season memorable.

Doesher applied but didn’t believe anything would come of it, so she was shocked to hear she was selected and her son would get his dream bedroom. She was sponsored by two businesses that are part of the Jingle Christmas Makeover, Burnley Knives and Furnish Hope. They bought Stryder a futon, coffee table, computer and television.

“This whole thing has just been something we could never do in a million years,” Doesher said. “It’s surreal. It’s just very emotional in a lot of ways.”

Each family selected for the Jingle Christmas Makeover has struggled through the pandemic.

Many of the families are facing serious medical issues and financial hurdles. One family of six became homeless as each parent lost a job. A grandmother has a terminal lung disease and this will likely be her last Christmas.

Ranae Staley, executive director at the Giving Plate, said she wanted to find a way to connect generous donors with those who have experienced a grueling year. In addition to the 10 families, Staley was able to connect 30 more families with donors willing to give a smaller amount of money.

“It’s been really amazing watching this happen,” Staley said.

Staley hopes to make the Jingle Christmas Makeover an annual tradition and possibly expand it to more families each year.

“Our community needs to know hope is alive in our community,” Staley said. “People want to help. They want to be a part of a solution.”

Donors this year included individuals, local businesses and a women’s book club.

Bend resident Chelsea Callicott, who started the Amazing Women Book Club earlier this year, said one of the members, Amy Ochander, was an individual donor to the Jingle Christmas Makeover and encouraged the entire club to sponsor a family.

The book club sponsored the Kelley family, a husband and wife and four children who became homeless earlier this year when they lost their home due to black mold and both parents lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Through the Christmas makeover, the book club was able to find the Kelleys temporary housing in a hotel through the holiday season, help them repair their car and give them winter clothes.

Callicott said the goal is to get them positioned to find permanent housing and employment. She set up an online fundraiser at GoFundMe.com for the family.

“The most important thing is to connect them to the people who will help them go forward,” Callicott said.

Jossie Kelley said being sponsored by the book club could change everything for her and her husband, Ken, and their four children, a 15-year-old boy, 14-year-old twin boy and girl and a 9-year-old girl.

Kelley said her family’s luck was so poor this year, she had no hope of winning the makeover when she applied for it last month at the Giving Plate. She couldn’t help but get emotional when she found out her family was selected.

“I started crying,” she said. “It’s been a hard road. And now our goal is just to find decent jobs, get on our feet and possibly find permanent housing.”

With temporary housing for the next few weeks, Kelley and her husband plan to use the time to find work in caregiving, cleaning or construction.

“It’s a big relief just to know you can sleep through the night and you don’t have to worry about the next day,” Kelley said.

The Kelley family loves to cook together and now it will have the chance on Christmas. The family plans to spend the day preparing a ham dinner with collard greens, cornbread and mac and cheese. Peach cobbler will be the dessert.

Christmas will be a rare moment of calm for the family after such a tumultuous year. It will give them hope for the future.

“I’ve had it good and I’ve had it bad,” Kelley said, “but I keep ticking.”