Christmas Eve was supposed to be a joyful time for 33-year-old Leslie Romero and her five children. They had gifts to unwrap, many of which were provided by their “Season of Caring” wish list or their trip to Academy Sports + Outdoors the week before, during which they received a $1,000 gift card.

But then water from the apartment on the third floor above them began to pour. A pipe burst, causing a flood of water that damaged the living room and bedroom of 12-year-old Anaya.

Anaya, the eldest, has always been a child who takes care of her younger brothers – Anthony, 10, Adrian, 7, Amari, 2, and Abraham, 1. sauce or muffins and cakes, all from scratch.

Even before Romero asks for anything, Anaya often comes to the rescue, according to her mom.

“She already knows,” Romero said. She will do it out of the goodness of her heart.

Romero, 33, is a full-time single mother raising five children, including a toddler who is in dire need of health after being born four months premature. Recently, Romero broke up with her longtime partner, the father of children.

Read more:Leslie Romero: Mom wants her miracle baby to walk and talk

Her Family participates in the Stateman’s Season for Caring program, which helps hundreds of families each year through local non-profit agencies. The Romero family has been nominated by Any Baby Can, which provides services to children with health or developmental issues.

Firefighters arrived on Christmas Eve to try and stem the flood, and the family had to evacuate within five hours. Romero used all of their towels to soak up the water, but those towels were thrown away, as were Anaya’s sheets.

Anaya’s TV also had to be thrown away. All of Anaya’s work was also damaged and had to be thrown away.

All the furniture in the living room is soaked with water and they hope it will air dry, but they already smell mold in the living room. They hung out in the master bedroom, which had only a trickle of water.

Her apartment building will begin renovations on Monday, but Romero is already fed up. This is the second time a pipe has burst in her apartment. The last time this happened was in February 2021, during a severe winter storm.

She worked with a real estate agent and said she thought she had found a rental home she could afford, in part because Season for Caring helped her save money to pay some bills. She needs help moving.

She also needs towels, sheets, a dining table, living room furniture, and gift cards to Walmart, Target, Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Burlington, and Buy Buy Baby. She needs an iPad for Amari to work on her language skills, or Apple gift cards.

To learn more about the Romero family or to donate something from the wish list, contact Any Baby Can, 512-276-8199, anybabycan.org.

Learn more:How to Help Families Through the Statesman Season for Caring Program

To make a donation, go to stateman.com/seasonforcaring.

Donate:Use the form below or click here: https://statesmansfc.kimbia.com/statesmanseasonforcaring