Ten Ways You Can Support Single Moms This Christmas
SONYA STEARNS
Network Manager
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The initial content for this article was originally published by Save the Storks. Some edits and additional text have been added so nonprofit organizations and churches can facilitate the ideas mentioned.
Christmas is a time of joy, giving, and togetherness. But it can also be challenging and stressful for single moms. Balancing work, parenting, and holiday preparations can be overwhelming.
This Christmas, your church or nonprofit can spread extra cheer by equipping your staff, volunteers, and backers to support single moms in your area. Use the suggestions below to plan innovative ways to serve these women better. You’ll notice that some ideas are meant to strengthen engagement where current relationships already exist, while others are designed to build new, ongoing ones. Let’s dive in!
1. Bring her a meal.
For a single mom (or–let’s be honest–for any mom), eating a meal she didn’t have to cook or pay for might be the best gift ever.
Individuals: This gesture can mean more than you know, whether you bring your friend a pizza on a Friday night or a home-cooked meal to simplify her weeknights.
Organizations: Facilitate the connections between single moms and those willing to prepare or purchase a meal and deliver it. Some volunteers might be willing to provide a meal once a week during the holidays to the same family, opening the door for new friendships and deeper opportunities for engagement.
2. Offer to babysit.
If you are a parent, you know getting a few hours alone, even to run errands or take a bath, is not a small thing.
Individuals: Text a mom you know and offer to watch her kids so she can have time to go gift shopping, get her nails done, or do whatever she wants. If your kids are the same age as hers, offer to pick them up from school and do a playdate so she can have the afternoon to relax.
Organizations: Your church (or a small group from your church) or nonprofit could hold a “Single Moms Day Out” or a “Single Moms Night Out” once a week during the holiday season. This would allow single moms to meet others like themselves and give them opportunities to run errands or just relax.
Sometimes, transportation to shopping areas can be a barrier for these moms. Consider how you can provide it as an added blessing to your event.
3. Take her to coffee.
After a challenging day at work or dealing with the demands of parenting, a single mom often has no one to sit and listen to how her day went.
Individuals: Take your single mom friend out for coffee (or dessert) this Christmas and offer a listening ear to affirm and encourage her. Make this a regular event, even after the holiday.
Organizations: Nothing beats one-on-one conversation. If your organization has a building where children can be supervised, individual staff and volunteers could take time to talk with the moms over light refreshments. If you can, intentionally pair volunteers with moms who have similar interests, employment, and/or mutual hobbies.
True Charity has created a fun resource called Life Deck to help facilitate these opportunities. To start an ongoing mentoring program, True Charity Network Members can use the Mentoring MAP, accessed through the member portal.
4. Fill her stocking.
Many moms spend their time and money during the holidays making sure their kids have the best memories, but when Christmas morning comes, their stockings hang over the fireplace flat as a pancake.
Individuals: Picture the joy on your friend’s face when she finds you’ve taken the time to stuff a stocking to the brim for her on Christmas Day!
Organizations: Find what your single moms like, ask individuals or families to adopt one or two, and fill a stocking for them. They can be given before Christmas Day, or if volunteers are willing, they can be delivered on Christmas morning.
5. Help her put up decorations.
Decorating gets everyone in the holiday spirit, but some moms put all their energy into loving their babies and working to put food on the table. Coming over to help her means an extra set of eyes on the kids and not having to put the star on the tree by herself.
Individuals: Never underestimate the power of one friend’s kindness in giving a single mom and her children memories that last a lifetime!
Organizations: Many in your church or nonprofit would jump at the chance to purchase decorations and/or put them up for single moms and their families. But don’t make this a “We’re just here to hang decorations” event. Use the visit as a springboard to build single moms’ social networks. As mentioned before, intentionally pair volunteers and moms with similar interests if possible.
6. Get her gifts just for her.
Single moms always Christmas shop for others. Chances are single moms are looking for gifts for their kids and won’t buy anything for themselves.
Individuals: If you are close to a single mom, you probably know one gift she’s been eyeing but would never purchase for herself. Imagine how loved she would feel when there’s a gift under her tree she didn’t wrap!
Organizations: You probably have people willing to make Christmas day deliveries for these special moms. As mentioned, research your single moms’ interests and likes, then pair them with volunteers or church members who would enjoy building a mutually beneficial relationship with them after Christmas Day.
7. Invite her to your holiday dinner party.
For some single moms, the holiday season can be the most challenging time to be alone. It can be hard to see other families celebrating, and often unintentionally, the single mom will be left off the invite list with couples. It can be even more difficult if a single mom doesn’t have family in town.
Individuals: Invite her and her family to your home for Christmas dinner so she can spend her holiday surrounded by people who love and care for her.
Organizations: “Organizational meals” can seem cold and non-relational, but you could hold a holiday dinner just for single moms with the intention of pairing them with couples and families. These connections could create opportunities for the families to host the single mom and her children at a more intimate holiday meal later in their homes. Those couples and families should desire continued communication and ongoing relationships with those moms after the holidays.
8. Get her some necessities, too.
One of the most basic ways to support single moms might be the most impactful.
Individuals: Next time you’re grocery shopping, double up on wipes, diapers, and everything your friend needs. Throw in some extra snacks, drinks, and easy lunches you know she and her kids will love!
Organizations: Combine donated necessities with items mentioned in #4 and #6 and distribute them with the help of volunteers.
9. Ask her what she needs.
“What do you need?” It’s a simple question that can lift a heavy weight off a mama’s shoulders by making her consider her needs.
Individuals: Ask your friend this question and wait until she tells you exactly what she needs. If she needs a big hug for Christmas, give her exactly that.
Organizations: Person-to-person relationships fuel hope. Passionately pursue whatever ways your church or nonprofit can facilitate one-on-one encouragement with single moms.
10. Let her know about the resources available at your local clinic.
Individuals: If you have a single mom friend who needs help, tell her about the Save the Storks online database.
Organizations: Community collaboration is vital when helping those in need. Work with organizations in your community that are relationship-driven and offer a hand-up (instead of a hand-out). You can also use the True Charity Member Map to learn more about members nationwide who are committed to helping these women.
Single moms often lack the healthy friendships and encouraging community we all need. The suggestions mentioned in this article offer ample opportunities for personal connections with the potential for ongoing fellowship and building social networks.
You can play an important role by initiating contact between compassionate individuals from your organization and moms who need them. In doing so, you’ll help empower moms right where they are!
For more information on effective charity and how your organization can implement programs that deliver long-term results to those being served, visit truecharity.us/join.
Already a member? Access your resources in the member portal.
