We empower moms by teaching them the skills so they become self-sufficient, provide for their child and break the working poverty cycle. The meaning and possibilities wrapped up in this solution statement bring tears of sadness and joy! None escapes this life without having times of doubt and discouragement. The feeling of just wanting to throw your hands up and give up! So to be able to give back to young moms through love, encouragement, course correction, accountability and skills development to empower young moms to move forward in confidence is a blessing, gift and amazing honor.
The dictionary definition of empowered is “having the knowledge, confidence, means or ability to do things or make decisions for oneself.” This is the backbone of why we hold skills development classes. Along with creating community, each class is designed to grow & teach valuable skills that have immediate and lifelong benefits. Each conversation has been prayed for and planned to empower all the moms and help create confidence, knowledge, means and ability to do things or make decisions for oneself. We have seen and continue to see the fruits of this labor of love. There may not be a less tangible goal or mission than empowerment. What does that even look like? Well, because of amazing donors, countless hours from incredible volunteers and the determination & hard work of our single moms, at Hearts for Moms our definition of empowerment looks like this:
Bills being paid on time
Emergency funds being built
Kids are healthy and thriving
GED’s being earned
Graduations taking place
Savings beings established
College classes being taken
Prayers being prayed
Confidence growing
Faith taking hold
Trust being built
Encouragement & accountability create empowerment. Creating a space to learn what we need to know in order to make strong, confident decisions is vital. Having an amazing team of people surrounding you, guiding you, caring for you and praying for your success is everything. Then celebrating all your accomplishments and helping you learn & grow through challenges. All the while developing confidence that you can make the right decisions and that you can make it through any challenge. We sometimes see the word empowerment being used as a hard, tough word or then sometimes, the opposite, we give it this purple, fluffy feel. Neither is correct. Neither is helpful. But true empowerment involves generational barriers being torn down and young moms creating safe and nurturing places for their children grow and thrive!