I’ve been sitting here for the past hour trying to figure out the best way to start writing this blog post about a topic which is so emotional and important to me. I think the best thing I can do is start by saying that if you’re a mom, I hope you have a miraculous and magical Mother’s Day this coming May. I hope the kids all decide to play together peacefully and realize that peaceful play is way more fun than fighting anyway; that your husband or friends shower you with love and foot massages; that elves come and make your house so clean it literally sparkles; that you get hours alone to read your books or shop or bake or whatever it is you like to do in your “me time”; that your water bill is mysteriously paid for the next month so you can take as many loooong, good-smelling baths as you can squeeze into the end of spring.
The thing is, your job makes the rest of the world keep turning. You provide comfort, confidence, unfailing love, grace, and life lessons to our next leaders. And you do that all while managing family finances, securing a roof over your kids’ heads and food in their mouths, providing support to your friends and spouse, and probably acting as an employee (or even an employer). I’m not a mom yet, and I’m so glad women like you exist to help me navigate those waters when it’s my time to rear up a little tyke.
Every mom in Nashville deserves to feel so, so special on Mother’s Day this year. But the problem is, an estimated 8,000 of Nashville’s moms are going to be too busy trying to find a safe place for their children to sleep that they won’t have a chance to enjoy their day. My heart breaks for our 8,000-ish local moms who have escaped domestic violence, suffered from a recent and trying divorce, had their home destroyed in a natural disaster, or in some other way lost their stable housing.
I don’t know why fate bestows such wealth upon some of us, and such grief upon others. But I know that The Volunteer State is strong, and that we take care of one another. Almost 1/4 of us volunteer, and almost half of us donate significant amounts of money to charitable causes.
I’m also really proud to work for a company that has always valued moms; TWO MEN AND A TRUCK was originally founded by a mom, and she realized that many moms in her town weren’t as fortunate as she was. Mary Ellen Sheets, the mom of the original “two men,” was so thankful for her initial success as a business owner that she donated her entire first year’s profits to local women’s causes and shelters. Today I’m privileged to continue this legacy in Music City by organizing an annual “Movers for Moms” campaign to help moms in need at Safe Haven Family Shelter as we approach Mother’s Day.
If you aren’t familiar with Safe Haven, they’re amazing! They’re the only homeless shelter in all of Middle Tennessee which is equipped to accept entire families inside their doors. Every other shelter in the region must separate families into various Women’s and Children’s and Men’s shelters because they don’t have the capacity to serve them all. Once a family enters Safe Haven, the shelter works on finding them affordable, long-term housing as soon as possible to provide emotional stability to the children. Simultaneously, Safe Haven provides free healthcare planning, financial classes, job training and employment help, tutoring for the children in school, and counseling to ensure a healthy state of mind for the family.
Through Movers for Moms, we collect essential care items to help these moms start their new lives. My company partners with various daycare centers, businesses, and other organizations which support moms in need to place purple donation boxes all over Davidson County to collect gifts for Safe Haven’s moms. Then in late April, our moving trucks go and collect all the donations we’ve received at each collection site so we can deliver them in time for Mother’s Day.
Movers for Moms is an incredible program, and we’ve collected a lot of needed donations for Nashville mamas who need to feel special and supported. But we need your help to keep this movement going! Please visit the Movers for Moms webpage to find a drop-off box near you, as well as a short “wish list” of needed donations. Our goal this year is to collect 5,000 donations for Safe Haven in time for Mother’s Day… From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your help in meeting that goal!
This post was written by Jenni Hargrove. She is the Marketing Director for TWO MEN & A TRUCK Nashville & Hermitage locations. She is also the mind behind the amazing Movers for Moms initiative.