Grant Literature
The I.C. White Stone Foundation’s mission:
To help reduce added financial and emotional stress that single mothers face so they can concentrate on nurturing and educating their children to be healthy adults.
Objectives: To form a system of accountability, help and resources for single mothers and for youth being raised in single parent homes.
How Will This Be Done?
1. By establishing a Single Mothers Network – in which neighborhood single mothers are identified and compiled on a list where each becomes the others needed network of help and resources. Now when help is needed (babysitting, barter, help filling out a FAFSA, or help painting a porch) single mothers only need look within their own community.
2. And the same goes for youths raised in single parent homes. By establishing a Single Mothers Network naturally identified the need for positive outlets for their youths. We have formed two Youth Action Councils that solely consist of neighborhood youths being raised in single parent homes.
Goals: To help equip and empower single mothers and youths being raised in single parent homes financially for themselves, their family, and to help bring added value to their standing in the community.
Our Aim: Is for single mothers and youths being raised in single parent homes to develop into community resources alleviating the perception of mere recipients of services.
Curriculum Description:
Value Based Character
Education
Parenting/ Relationship skills
Education
Kid and Mom Family - preneurs
Healthier Lifestyles
Community Involvement
Volunteering
Expected outcomes:
Single mothers system of accountability.
Youth in single parent homes holding other youths in single parent homes accountable through the Youth Action Councils.
A compiled list of known financial, emotional, and higher educational resources made readily available.
More involvement with children’s teachers and schools by establishing email accounts for single mothers.
Assistance for single mothers with upkeep of homes and yards.
Actions to take:
By being visible, meeting regularly, and establishing partnerships.
By establishing a single mother’s website.
By modeling and creating a mixture of relational mentorships, such as divorced single mothers and never married single mothers.
Why the divorced/never married combination?
Typically, divorced single mothers model a stable and consistent work ethic because they want to maintain their previous two-income lifestyle.
Divorced single mothers have already witnessed the importance of the father’s involvement in the family.
And, never married single mothers model their resiliency and never give up attitude. This attitude would prove invaluable to a just divorced now single mother.
Future Planned Formations:
Single mother’s visitation program or respite care for grandparents raising grandkids.
Planned events for the entire family:
Playing on Purpose (POP)
Service projects
Participation in National Days of Service a.k.a. M.L. King Day
The name I.C. White Stone Foundation:
We call our organization a Foundation because mothers touch every life in society and can possibly lay a foundation for future success or failure. A failed relationship distorts a woman’s view of herself, thus leaving a Diamond in the Rough. Reassurance that a failed relationship does not make one a failure, the rough edges dissipate resulting in an I.C. White Stone.
When was I.C. White Stone started?
In July 2003 the founder noticed the amount of single families in her community and decided to start there. The strength of the community, the success of businesses and the future of our city lie in the health of the family.
What is the problem?
Statistics reveal that most Americans are still choosing to marry. Here in the United States 50% of all marriages fail creating single parent homes for half of all Americans. Now add all the births from never married single mothers. Nashville has the reputation for setting standards. But beneath the community’s growth, and booming economy lies the hidden fact that many single families are in crisis. The majority of divorced single mothers and never married single mothers do not receive any child support. And this is creating critical levels of poverty stricken families and communities. The Federal Office of Child Support in the Preliminary Statistics for 2002 reports that $92.3 billion in accumulated unpaid support is due to almost 20 million children in the U.S. And 1.61 billion is due to 487,333 children in Tennessee. Divorce and child support can lead to societal and community issues such as, absentee fathers, poverty, juvenile crime, domestic violence, and out-of-wedlock births. These issues can also be linked to kids being left home alone because mom has to work a second job. According to the Tennessee Economic Council on Women, we’re finding out that Tennessee is compounding the problem. Women earn less than men in 99% of all occupations by an average of $8,108. Only 14% of Tennessee women have a college degree and it ranks 50th in the nation in the overall status of women.
Most residents agree that the family is the main building block of society. In 2002, Tennessee ranked 4th in the nation for divorce. Divorce changes a woman’s lifestyle dramatically and children growing up in single parent households are more likely;
to be poor
to have health problems
to drop out of school
to be teen parents
to be involved with criminal activity than those children who grow up in an intact two parent household.
Why will this program be successful?
This program will be successful because we do not give anything away. It is only for those who desire and are willing to put in the necessary work to empower themselves.
This program will be successful because we encourage father/child relationships. Mothers are educated why this is important and taught the necessary skills and techniques to welcome the father’s involvement regardless of personal feelings. Child support may never come so we advocate two proactive approaches.
Mothers are introduced to the means of turning daily talents and activities into entrepreneur endeavors thus supplementing the missing income. We also network and partner with businesses that are willing to outsource work to our single moms. Working from home enables women to raise their own children while earning their own money. Most moms only need part time work, and as a result employers pay no benefits. Businesses are asked to pay a fee for each single mother hired. This money goes to help establish a Neighborhood Association Fee. This fee will then goes toward hiring our own youths being raised in single parent homes to help eliminate yard work for untrained and too busy single mothers. Single mothers are more likely to entertain the idea of re-establishing the father’s role in the family when the mother is not strapped for money, bickering at him the entire visit and he is not merely looked upon as a paycheck. Empowered mothers are more likely to allow the relationship to occur when she is not burdened financially. And dad doesn’t have to hear all the bickering.
We believe positive peer pressure from neighbors and businesses will start to sway others to help single mothers help themselves. This also helps them and will result in a desire and pursuit of cleaner surroundings by all neighbors in the 37206 zip code.
Problems facing the 37206 zip code area?
The community is the home to several young families with young kids.
The community is unkempt with neglected homes.
Parents need to be more proactive towards children’s education.
Parents need to be empowered, eliminating generations of poverty.
Strategic Actions:
The I.C. White Stone Foundation uses a value faith informed curriculum.
To use credible research to identify significant problems facing single families and their communities, with an emphasis on families and youth in the 37206 zip code area.
To identify solutions that are based on faith-based/traditional values and principles; to measure the effectiveness of these solutions based on credible, practical data; to evaluate the impact of these potential solutions.
To build broad public support for value/faith informed solutions through self empowerment communication and collaboration rather than providing direct client services.
To empower and equip single mothers for successful parenting, self-sufficiency, relationships, and for those who choose marriage for themselves, while they’re evolving into needed resource.
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