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Saturday, November 14, 2026Nov 14

Neediest Cases Fund helps ‘Miss Margaret’ stay on the move

neediest-cases-helps-miss-margaret-stay-on-the
neediest-cases-helps-miss-margaret-stay-on-the
photo Mary Margaret Watson, 88, talks in her home in Chattanooga on Saturday. Watson uses a wheelchair bound because of cerebral palsy and relies on Special Transit Services for transportation to Signal Centers.

THE NEEDIEST CASES FUNDDonate onlineThe Chattanooga Times Free Press Neediest Cases Fund enters its 100th year helping those in need with donations from readers who generously give to a unique resource available year round. Contributions, which are acknowledged in the newspaper, will be accepted through Dec. 31.

NEED HELP?United Way of Greater Chattanooga will work with partner agencies in the area to help people with emergency needs as well as provide services, if possible, to help them become self-sufficient and stable. Call 423-752-0353 if you or someone you know could benefit from the Neediest Caseses Fund.

Miss Margaret – technically, Mary Margaret Watson – lives on $730 a month.

“Well, I make it,” she said Saturday afternoon.

She gets an additional $54 monthly in government food benefits, even though she doesn’t have a birth certificate because someone in 1925 forgot to count her on a census.