October 3, 2023 // Diocese
Annual Fundraiser for A Mother’s Hope Continues to Grow
The 6th Annual Diamond Gala for A Mother’s Hope in Fort Wayne, held on Thursday, September 21, at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Conference Center, was packed with people excited to support the amazing work being done at the unique shelter.
Click here for more photos from the gala.
A Mother’s Hope is the only shelter in Fort Wayne for pregnant homeless mothers, where not only do they have a safe place to stay, but the mothers are offered training and opportunities to improve their lives. They are provided with housing and supportive services to strengthen their opportunities for stability, including intensive daily and weekly services that include structured therapeutic sessions, case management, educational opportunities, employment coaching, community connections, and individualized action plans. The women are also able to stay at A Mother’s Hope until their baby is a year old, ensuring support through that difficult first year of life.
Founder and Executive Director Stasia Roth speaks to attendees of the 6th Annual Diamond Gala for A Mother’s Hope at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne on Thursday, September 21. – Photos provided by Shay/Nichols Productions
This year’s Diamond Gala fundraiser had the highest attendance and brought in the most money of any other year it has been held.
Founder and Executive Director Stasia Roth was elated by the generosity of those in attendance. “We are so incredibly grateful to our A Mother’s Hope family for the outpouring of love and support for every mom and baby we serve!”
Total donations from the night were $206,000. The evening included a cocktail hour, silent auction, opportunities for gift cards, wine, and whiskey, and of course, raffles for a beautiful diamond necklace and diamond watch. Following dinner, there was a live auction and a call for monetary donations.
During dinner, a video was shown of one young woman, Alyssa, who gave her powerful testimony about how A Mother’s Hope saved her life and that of her unborn baby. An addict her entire life, she said was always sick and jailed repeatedly. Pregnant and in jail in Michigan, she didn’t even know she was being released until she heard one of the guards on the monitor calling her to tell her to pack her things to leave. She explained that she was so weak that the guards had to lift her up to get her moving.
When they asked her who to call to come and get her, she told them she had nowhere to go and no one to help her. She said that they just threw her clothes at her, told her it was cold out since it was winter, and told her to figure it out. She walked out of jail in the snow not knowing what to do.
She didn’t go into detail about how she moved from Michigan to Indiana or found her way to A Mother’s Hope, but she did. Even then, she said, she still hadn’t accepted that she was pregnant, she didn’t trust anyone, and she didn’t trust herself. She had the mindset that she was going to do something to get herself kicked out. She said it was a very long and slow process to get out of that mindset. She finally began to realize that people did care about her and see worth in her.
Shay/Nichols Productions
Hundreds of attendees gather in support of the 6th Annual Diamond Gala for A Mother’s Hope at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne on Thursday, September 21.
After a lot of work and a lot of support at A Mother’s Hope, Alyssa has been able to stay clean, get healthy, begin to believe in herself, and now looks forward to being a mom to her unborn baby boy. She has goals of getting her own place, supporting herself and her baby, raising the baby for his entire life, and being an actual member of society.
About the organization, Alyssa said, “People should support A Mother’s Hope because they have changed people’s lives. They have changed my life. They have been so good to me, more than I even probably deserve. They have just loved me and they love all of the women here and they love the babies and they are doing amazing things.”
Alyssa concluded her story by saying that if she had not found A Mother’s Hope, she would have just repeated the cycle of life she had been living in Michigan here in Indiana. She said she is now looking forward to life with her baby and being a good mom.
If everything continues to go well, Alyssa and her baby, due at any time, will be able to live at A Mother’s Hope through that first crucial year of life. Support does not end there, though, as mothers continue to receive support after they leave the house.
According to the website, “A Mother’s Hope provides a home with practices and principles grounded in Christian love. We provide opportunities for residents to make positive changes in their spiritual, emotional, and physical lives. We recognize that each woman is unique in her life experiences and in the circumstances that resulted in her being homeless. We support residents as they define and strive for their own individual versions of success.”
More information about A Mother’s Hope and the opportunity to donate can be on that website at AMothersHopeFW.org.
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