Every Mother’s Day, The Ark, a nonprofit organization that supports single mothers with financial assistance and educational resources, celebrates them with Adopt-a-Mom. With the help of donations from community members, the program gifts single mothers with flowers, handwritten notes, and this year, a brunch.
Supporting low-income single mothers is about more than just supplementing their day-to-day needs, according to program coordinator Ashley Stewart. It is also about empowering and reminding them that their contributions do not go overlooked.
“I think the work that we do here, day in and day out, is so important and helps them kind of overcome adversity,” Stewart said. “But doing something special, like flowers and a card or a brunch, just feels extra special and connected because it’s so specific.”
Why It’s Newsworthy: Adopt-A-Mom celebrates low-income single mothers on Mother’s Day, while reminding them that their contributions do not go overlooked.
Adopt-a-Mom is founded on the principle of going above and beyond. The Ark not only provides everyday necessities, such as rent assistance, but it also strives to make mothers feel good. For one mother, that recognition is a key part of feeling supported.
Just the fact that someone took the time to think about me on Mother’s Day, I’m not getting emotional, but it was so special,” said Juana Hulin, a beneficiary of The Ark and mother of three.
The Ark selected moms for Adopt-a-Mom from among the families they already serve through their other programs. People can donate to Adopt-a-Mom through a link on The Ark’s website, or by mailing a check to 640A Barber St., Athens, Georgia, 30601 with “Adopt-a-Mom” in the memo line. Every $25 donation covers one mom.
The Gift Behind The Ark
Hulin found The Ark years ago when she had health challenges and needed assistance paying her utilities and rent. She suffered a series of job lay-offs and, before starting classes in cosmetology at Athens Technical College, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer.
The Ark was there for Hulin during one of her life’s roughest patches. Its financial assistance helped her to continue her studies while maintaining a roof over her head during chemotherapy.
“Because of The Ark, I was able to graduate and keep my place,” Hulin said.
Hulin underwent her last chemotherapy treatment in 2017, the same year she started participating in Adopt-a-Mom. Now, Hulin is a licensed hairstylist and works an additional job, which is less demanding than it was in the past, when she worked three jobs at once.
Still, the emotional support Adopt-a-Mom extends to mothers like Hulin helps them feel recognized. Stewart shared that the mothers served by The Ark do not always receive recognition for how hard they work from the people in their life, whether that be their children or others.
Adopt-a-Mom has been operating for 10 years, making this Mother’s Day their 11th. This year, they have over 250 moms to be “adopted.” To adopt a mom, participants donate $25 per mom. Stewart wanted to add to the program this year by hosting a brunch for the moms in the hopes that doing so would give them the opportunity to fellowship and form friendships with other single mothers.
Stewart acknowledged that the ongoing housing crisis and relatively low wages in Athens make it difficult for people with low incomes to support themselves without assistance. In 2023, the Athens-Clarke County Point in Time (PIT) homelessness count, facilitated by the Athens-Clarke County Department of Housing and Community Development, Athens Homeless Coalition and volunteers, identified a 20% increase in the unhoused population. The surveyors counted 342 unhoused individuals. The Ark provides rent and utility assistance, but beyond that, Stewart said there’s a need to encourage and uplift single mothers, who bear the burden of providing for themselves and their children.
“We’re trying to prevent eviction, so that can be really hard to cope with,” Stewart said. “This feels more light and empowering for those women to just say, ‘We see, we recognize the hard work and dedication of being a single mom.’”
Simply getting a personalized card and flowers in a vase in years’ past warmed Hulin’s heart. Hulin hopes to attend this year’s brunch and enjoy the “positive atmosphere” that The Ark curates.
Hulin said it makes a huge impact to recognize mothers in particular, who are unseen heroes.
“It feels good to have another mom pour into me,” Hulin said. “That’s what all moms need. I mean, it ain’t always the big stuff.”
Being a mom motivates, Hulin said. She had her first daughter at 32 and said that becoming a mother changed her life, giving her a purpose and direction.
It gives you a different fight,” Hulin said. “When you become a mom, you be like ‘This is what I’m fighting for. This is what I’m going to work for.”
This is also Hulin’s first year partaking in Adopt-a-Mom as a grandmother, making the day especially significant for her.
“I’m looking forward to just being alive, still being here, seeing a new day, and just being around good friends and family and loving on that grandbaby,” Hulin said.
Madison Brown, Olivia Sayer, Bella Carr and Katie Guenthner are journalism majors and students in Dr. Denetra Walker’s social justice journalism capstone course for spring 2025.
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