According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are more than 13.7 million single parents living in America. Most of these women work hard to make ends meet and devote their lives to their children. But on the day that mothers are to be celebrated, too often single mothers are ignored.
Danette Crawford, founder and president of Danette Crawford Ministries, has experienced this first-hand. She has been a single mother for 19 years since her husband walked out on her and her 2-week old baby. Because of this, she vowed to make Mother’s Day special for every single mom—no matter what their situation.
“Every year we honor single mothers and widows who would normally go without the recognition that they deserve on their special day,” says Crawford. “Normally Dad is the one who does something for Mom on her special day but when there is no Dad in the home, Mom usually goes without. That’s why we decided to change that for single Moms and widows in Virginia.”
Since the first event in 2001, Danette Crawford Ministries has blessed thousands of single moms and fatherless children from the community. Women and children are bussed in from battered women’s shelters, homeless shelters, subsidized housing and assisted living facilities. Although they have served more than 25,000 women and children in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, their goal is to spread the celebrations to major cities across the country.
“It is our dream that women nationwide and from all walks of life would be celebrated on their special day and be restored,” says Crawford.
At the free celebration, women are given the red-carpet treatment. They receive a 5-star meal with their children, a Mother’s Day gift, cards made by their children and words of encouragement that last throughout the year. While Moms are getting pampered, the kids are being cared for with special activities and a session covering issues that kids in single-parent home deal with.
“The unique and beautiful thing about these events is that these women are literally from every socioeconomic background, all ages and all races,” says Crawford. “At one table, you can have someone from a homeless shelter sitting next to someone who works at the local super store and a military wife whose husband is deployed.”
The 2017 Mother’s Day Celebration is being held at:
Sheraton Norfolk Waterside
777 Waterside Dr., Norfolk, VA 23510
Sunday May 14 – 4:00 pm
To Register, call the Danette Crawford Ministries office at 757-420-2625 or online registration atwww.danettecrawford.com
Danette Crawford Ministries aims to spread the gospel around the globe with its media endeavors. Joy Ministries Evangelistic Association, its outreach arm, organizes inner-city work with over 20 different compassion programs.
Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/StockPlanets
Publication date: May 11, 2017
