MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A Hernando, Mississippi woman who took in her niece and five nephews three years ago is getting some GoFundMe help to officially become their mom.
Amanda Perry said thanks to hard work, good budgeting, thrift store shopping, and extreme couponing, she was able to provide for the children, ages 4-12, but couldn’t afford the $20,000 in legal fees to adopt them.
“It’s independent. We are not under Child Protection Services,” said Perry. “I find out later if they were under CPS or DHS custody, adoption would be free. But I still didn’t want that for them.”
Perry said her half-sister was forced to give up the children due to mental illness and drug addiction, and she got the call to take them all in. Perry, a registered medical assistant, said her two grown children were already out of the house, and her empty nest quickly became a full one again.
“The baby stage, the pacifier, it was all behind me. I had to get adjusted to all that, and to be honest, it did not take long. It was like mothering all over again,” she said.
She said her goal has always been to keep the children she refers to as her six-pack together. During a Zoom call Monday night, she was watching dinner in the oven and trying to get all six children showered.
“It’s like an assembly line. We leave the shower running, and we start from youngest to oldest, and they just go because we only have one full bathroom.”
Perry was hoping to raise enough for a $10,000 down payment for the lawyers and even planned to take $5,000 out of her savings. So far, though, the GoFundMe has raised nearly $36,000.
Perry is overwhelmed by the generosity of family, friends, and the community and plans to use the extra money to give her kids an even better life.
“Not to go into details, but they have been through a lot,” Perry said. “My wish for what is left over is to possibly put a down payment on a bigger house because we have no room here.”
She said the adoption process will take about a year to complete, and her children can’t wait to get her last name.
“They are excited. I hear it every day,” she said. “We’ve been here for three years. So, another year that’s nothing. It will be a breeze.”
If you want to contribute to the GoFundMe, click here.
