Seventeen years ago, Deb Childs’ neighborhood and church connections made her aware of Making Our Moms Successful (MOMS), a faith-based mentoring program for single women raising a family.
“I have always had a heart for women supporting women and walking alongside to help them grow emotionally and spiritually,” said Childs, the accounting administrator for CNH Architects. Since Childs had experience mentoring individual women in difficult life situations, she quickly became involved.
She helped with fundraising and special events, and served on the board of directors. The program works with 10 women at a time who graduate after five years, or when additional supports are no longer needed.
Childs has had many key highlights in her three years on the board recently. She’s witnessed mothers who created a stable home life and reached milestones, such as completing an education, purchasing a home or starting businesses. Twice-monthly workshops for mothers covers budgeting, parenting, and access to resources. A group of volunteer mentors meets monthly.
MOMS started as a nonprofit program 29 years ago to provide child care for families in need. It evolved into a mentoring program for single mothers. The effort now covers Dakota and Scott counties.
Minnesota statistics for 2017 show 32 percent of births are to unwed mothers. Unwed births for Dakota and Scott Counties were 27 percent and 20 percent in 2014, respectively, according to MOMS. The organization is based in Burnsville. More information is available on the group’s website.