Strong, Beautiful, Empowered: Mom’s Day Out
May 15, 2018
Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club
Strong, Beautiful, Empowered – these words were not only the theme of The Haven’s May 12, 2018 Mom’s Day Out event, but also the words that our staff think best define Haven moms as we celebrated them for Mother’s Day.
Mom’s Day Out is a biannual event focused on education, encouragement, and connection for Haven families across our programs. This event specifically focuses on connecting with mothers in our 10-year Aftercare Program. It is a chance for them to come together with current participants of our residential programs to learn, grow and share advice with one another.
The day focused on the theme of Strong, Beautiful, Empowered by featuring a panel discussion with two successful moms who have overcome their own difficult circumstances – entrepreneur Linda Mosley and Tish Haynes Keys, who recently competed on The Voice and will be the featured performer at Revealing the Faces of Hope – A Masquerade Ball to Benefit The Haven Grace on October 27, 2018. Their stories reminded our young moms to stay focused, work hard and to use motherhood as motivation to achieve their dreams rather than see it as a roadblock. After the panel discussion, moms also participated in Painting with a Sis paint party provided by JustUS Community Outreach.
This opportunity to connect also provided The Haven’s staff a chance to check in with Aftercare moms and collect information that gives us a picture of what kind of progress our ladies are making after graduating from our residential programs. After Mom’s Day Out, we are proud to report that 94% of our Aftercare clients are employed or in a school full-time! This is an important marker to show that former residents are continuing to move forward towards long-term self-sufficiency and success.
While moms were participating in their program, their children were having a great day of their own thanks to childcare volunteers from Bonhomme Presbyterian Church. Special thank you to these awesome volunteers who played hard, had their hair braided, rocked babies, ran games of musical chairs, and showed all of The Haven kiddos an amazing day full of love and fun. We could not pull off events like these without partners like Bonhomme! Thank you!