For My Mother

By Lynne Algrant

“To My Mother: Who once found me daydreaming in the middle of the kitchen floor and mopped around me.” 

                                                               -Toni Cade Bambara

Each year at the Mentoring Moms Celebration brunch in May, I think of this wonderful book dedication.  The notion of supporting someone’s dreams is so powerful and so delightful.

When you walk into a room of Mentors and Moms you are surrounded by people who support others’ dreams.  At this year’s celebration, we cheered for a Mom who recently graduated from Berkeley College and another Mom who won a scholarship at Ramapo College for her academic achievement.  These women are changing their lives through education and they are cheered on by Mentors, other Moms and Staff—a whole community that supports their dreams.

Additionally, all of the moms attending the event went home with a bagful of household toiletries donated by the Eastern Bergen County Board of Realtors.

The Mentoring Moms Program has launched a new initiative—the Chat N Chew.  Facilitated by motivational speaker and author, Faith Saunders and co-facilitated by Tracey, one of our Moms, Chat N Chew is an opportunity for Moms to serve as a peer support to each other.  They are paying forward the support and guidance they have been given by Mentors.

Helping women to provide a safe and stable home for their families is the mission of Mentoring Moms.  Here at the Bergen Volunteer Center, we are so proud and honored to help mentors turn their caring into meaningful action. And now, we are facilitating the chain reaction where those who have been mentored are supporting each other. 

Learn more about the Mentoring Moms program by clicking here.