By Angie Hayes
The Truth Reporter
Mom’s House of Toledo hosted a celebration on June 27 at The Summit to recognize the positive impact Mom’s House has made to the community over the years. The 30 year of life celebration acknowledged and recognized the successful achievements of the participants, including graduates, staff and the community support.
Mom’s House is a non-profit organization, located on Franklin Street, that offers programs to help single mothers to complete educational growth. The celebration event was an opportunity to observe the success of the participants who have completed their educational process and provide positivity to the community.
The beginning of the celebration began with an opportunity to enjoy a dinner that was created by a graduate of Mom’s House who completed her educational process. The next phase of the event was recognition and awareness of the service, growth and details of the impact of Mom’s House. Over 30 years, Mom’s House has provided significant support to those individuals with needs.
Mistress of ceremony Rosalyn Whickum offered much information to the audience. “Welcome the Mom’s House 30th Year celebration. We are celebrating 30 years … but not just 30 years of anything … 30 years of cycle breaking,” said Whickum. “And it’s only right that we do this in true Mom’s House fashion and break the cycle. We have learned, we have developed, stable and thrive and give back to our community! Head Chef at Summit…. Jordan Star is a graduate of Mom’s House. She prepared all food for the event. We have entrepreneurs, we have bankers, we have chefs, we have pharmacists, we have team leaders, estheticians, cosmetologists, educators, from early college; from early childhood to the college level. Nurses, journalists and hundreds more working right here in the city of Toledo! With the help of Mom’s House and all of YOU, we are really sustainable and a generational chance to Toledo.”
Christina Rodriguez is the executive director and has successfully fulfilled that role for the last 16 years! Rodriguez provided details and specific information that demonstrated the successful impact Mom’s House has had in the community.
“I told Rosalyn to introduce herself and I told her to brag about herself. This is a different type of vibe; this is an accomplishment and didn’t she do a phenomenal job at our organization?” said Rodriguez of Whickum. “Seriously, she just touched the tip of the iceberg with her accomplishments and also all of the young ladies that are here, it just makes our heart so warm to know that they are thriving right here in our community. I get the privilege of saying ‘Thank You to the people who actually helped us and helped everyone of them to get to the place they are. I want to make sure that everyone here sees who the people are, that are the backbone of Mom’s House. First our Founder, Miss Nancy. And her husband and his son. Attorneys and some of the dad mentors, these guys could literally save lives. The board of directors who volunteer their time. Thank you for trusting us, and trusting me, and supporting us with all of our amazing decisions. We appreciate you. To our partners, our donors, our supporters, our friends: you don’t get to 30 years without a village and that is where our village is. It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to help us do the work that we do every single day. The Toledo community has been so good to us! We get to see the most generous people every day: helps us, encourages us to change lives. The people who are on the front line, the people who are doing the work the best. In my opinion it’s the Mom’s House Team.”
The next part of the celebration was a video of the growth, a Mom’s House Watch Party. “You get to see the beginning and end and go on the journey with the girls,” said Ken Rusk on the video, about the video. The video explored the successful development of Dacorsha Sutton, who was a young mother and is now a doctor. She completed her educational process and is active in the community. Her future is full of potential and successful outcomes.
“What we do makes a difference in their lives,” said Paige on the video about the benefits of Mom’s House. The video showed the successful growth that Dacorsha Sutton experienced. “Dacorsha’s story is just one of the many success stories of our organization, and it is just the beginning. As we continue supporting single parents in their pursuit of education and success, we can’t wait to see all we accomplish in the next 30 years and beyond,” said Rodriguez.
If you are interested in donating for the mission of Mom’s House, text “Mom’s House” to 345345 or call 419-241-5554. Donations will support the successful outcomes of Mom’s House. More information is available at MomsHouseToledo.org.
