Every year in May we celebrate all the wonderful attributes we have assigned to idealized mothers – unconditional love, unwavering belief in our abilities, unbridled joy at our successes, unending protection from real or perceived harm. We describe mothers as nurturing, encouraging, comforting and full of high expectations for those in her care.
We think of mothers as our first and most ardent cheerleaders. Volumes of research has been published about the way we speak to children — if we are positive and uplifting, concentrating on their strengths, they are more likely to be self confident and succeed. We also think of mothers as our nurturers — tending and cultivating our best qualities so they become the prominent part of our personalities.
We realize no one human being can perfectly fulfill that ideal but we do know that support from someone who cares about us can make the difference between continued growth or being “stuck” in a hopeless situation. We value care from another human being. It’s a powerful influence in anyone’s life.
But we know life isn’t perfect. To offer support to someone else, a person has to be on fairly solid ground themselves. Poverty makes that solid ground nearly impossible for some. At that point, they turn to Catholic Charities for help. What our specialists and social workers offer to women (and men) who come into the Welcome Center moves them toward stability. The social workers in our Mom’s Empowerment program work with mothers of all ages to strengthen and support them, and help them provide the needed support and care for their children.
Being a mom isn’t an easy task. Sometimes, a gal just needs someone to care for her. As we celebrate Mother’s day this year, it’s my prayer that women who seek help from Catholic Charities find it through my colleagues.
If you are passionate about helping families and want to support the many women who seek better lives for their children at Catholic Charities, please consider donating. You can be the one to help a mother by texting ‘BeTheOne’ to 41444. Your help is always greatly appreciated.
Susan Walker
Executive Director of Outreach & Engagement