Successful Single Moms Memphis Year in Review

On the Red Carpet of the 2012 Stone Awards

Empower, Educate, Engage, Employ, Equip, Enhance, Embrace, Encourage

Dear Friends:

Successful Single Moms Memphis, Inc. and the single mothers we serve are eliminating the excuses in our lives and providing solutions. As women of Possibilities, Purpose and Power we understand and stand firm that Success is our Birthright!

For the past three years we have worked hard to build a strong foundation and community /corporate collaborations to Embrace, Empower and Enhance the lives of our single moms and their families. Our reputation as a leader in the Memphis community is rapidly growing as the premier source for single moms.

Why is our work so important? As recent census data shows, Memphis has an disproportionate number of single family households, of which many are single mothers with hopes and dreams for a brighter future for their families. Being a solution driven entity we embrace the opportunity to assist, by providing single moms in Memphis resources and opportunities that can help them move from poverty to prosperity & self-sufficiency.

A heartfelt thank you to the partners, sponsors and community collaborators who are helping single moms in Memphis succeed. Your contributions are enormous, a priceless gem to our network of women, children and communities we serve.

With gratitude,

Executive Director Successful Single Moms Memphis

Successful Single Moms Memphis member Yolanda Gates a.k.a.

Quiet Storm performs “You Don’t Know My Pain” at the 2012 S.I.S. Awards Brunch

Walking into a New Life & Successful Single Moms Memphis partner for the second year of the S.I.S. Awards...Surviving in Silence. Both Survivors of Domestic Violence & Single Motherhood were honored!

EMPOWER

Successful Single Moms Memphis attended the 2012 Child Advocacy Days on the HillNashville, TN Savanna Gates-Hulbert, daughter of Nicole Gates was a honored guest of the Black Caucus on that day!

Special to the Tri-State Defender: Kimberly McGrew

Single parents in need of road map to a better life for themselves and their families had access to a conference designed to help them.

"The Conference for Single Parents" was held Saturday July 21, 2012 at the Pursuit of God Transformation Center, 3171 Signal Street. Nicole Gates, Executive Director of Successful Single Moms Memphis and author of "Success Over Statistics. I Choose!" is the pioneer behind the conference, which is geared toward men and women, both custodial and non-custodial parents.

"With Memphis having so many single parent households, it was essential to have these workshops, we must reach out to these single parents" stated Ms. Gates. According to www.city-data.com, Memphis is number 35 on the list of top 101 cities with the highest percentage of single-parent households. With a population of 650,100, 53 percent of Memphis households are headed by single parents. There are 78,541 single-parent households – 9, 607 headed by men and 68,934 by women. Nearly 1 in 5 teenagers is pregnant in Memphis, which is double the national average.

The conference featured 16 workshops covering topics which included Money Management, Personal Development, Family Literacy, Matters of the Heart, Parenting by Personality, Entrepreneurship. Some of the guest facilitators of workshops were Summer Owens, the author of "Life After Birth," who shared her life experience as a teenage single parent. Ms. Owens offered tips and tools that can lead to a successful life in spite of the setback of being a teen mom. Peggie Russell taught the importance of personal development and finding balance between work, school, kids and overcoming obstacles. "I taught a workshop on 'I Choose' which explained the power of choice and how becoming entrepreneurs can be a way out. The budgeting workshop focused on teaching the parents on how to deal with their finances by examining their bills (parents were requested to bring them to be able to participate), creating a spending plan and creating a budget based on the bills and their income. The conference also taught the parents (especially men) how to exercise their rights with the child support system and how to nurture their children.

My goal and expectations when creating this conference was that the participants would leave equipped with knowledge, motivated to move out of their current state driven to make a difference in, not just their lives, but the lives of their children. I am confident that life can be successful for you and your children, if you eliminate excuses and replace with them with solutions.

EDUCATE

This year Successful Single Moms Memphis and their many partners struck out to embrace Single Moms of Memphis/Shelby County through many endeavors, the most visible and successful was The Conference for Single Parents with 187 attendees for this first annual event.

Single Parents movie premier. Event was sponsored by SSMM, UHC & Boys, Inc..

There's no question that our current educational system is failing our students. The statistics are staggering: among 30 developed countries, the U.S. is ranked 25th in math and 21st in science. It's estimated that by the year 2020, there will be 123 million high-paying, high-skill jobs in the United States, but only 50 million Americans will be qualified to fill these positions.

SSMM Executive Director is featured on The Hope Project waging a war against Human Trafficking .

The Hope Project: An Effort to End Human Trafficking This music CD is a compilation of national recording artists that have joined together to do their part to eradicate human trafficking through music and encouragement. There are survivor stories, encouragement, legislative reviews, and so much more.

ENGAGE

SSMM was the co-host of the Waiting on Superman for

Successful Single Moms Memphis partners with Ashes 2 Beauty to fight against Domestic Violence & Human Trafficking through their annual “Ashes 2 Beauty Pamper Party� for survivors We are survivors here to give hope to those that are still victims or trying to heal from any type of abuse....We understand the effects that abuse can have on you and are here to guide you back to wholeness.

Epiphany Firm Co-OP affords single moms undergo additional training in personal and professional development business basics, financial literacy, marketing, customer service, and public relations.

The CHOICE of entrusting your business needs to the Epiphany Firm will afford single moms the CHANCE to experience economic empowerment and immeasurable CHANGE for their families!

Our 2012 Clients included:

Inspiration 4 the Generation

All Occasion Florist ” Think Pink” Campaign

Shopping 4 You

Girls of Leadership

Quiet Storm

KoKo & Friends Foundation Math Made Simple H2D S.C.R.A.M. Campaign Networking In Memphis Seeds 2 Life “Pink PJ Party” Media Campaign F.O.R. Expressions Team Finish Strong– Kidpreneur Academy

EMPLOY

The Epiphany Firm is single-mom owned and operated public relations, marketing and event planning firm, designed to create living wage jobs that will foster a cutting edge entrepreneurial skill set. The enterprise creates employment opportunities for single moms allowing them to move to a place of economic self-sufficiency promoting social support and hands-on educational opportunities.

Wise Up!

T-Scales Productions Cupcake Starz Delicious Wishes II

We will work with aspiring entrepreneurs from idea generation through product launch to develop cutting edge business solutions that evoke innovative solutions to both reoccurring and emerging problems.

EQUIP

About

Mission Our mission at the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation is to assist our clients become innovation catalysts who have the ability to proactively recognize opportunities through societal trends and key technologies.

SSMM Partnership: Many of our aspiring single moms have found a new stream of income due to the opportunities of University of Memphis’ Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation to launch successful businesses. Some our ladies who have taken advantage of these FREE services include: Doris Lee, All Occasion Florist All Occasion Florist offers its clients beautiful fresh floral arrangements year round.

Delivery Service & the Forget Me Not Floral Club...never forget another celebration!

Nicole Gates, Epiphany Firm, LLC The Epiphany Firm is a Public Relations & Marketing Firm for Small Business Owners, Grassroots Organizations & Small Non-Profits to gain the media coverage they would not normally acquire. The Epiphany Firm is owned and operated by Successful Single Moms of Memphis. The Epiphany Firm trains, hires and employs only single mothers.

ENHANCE Women’s Wellness Retreat Sponsored by United HealthCare The Place of Rest Women’s Wellness Retreat was designed to provide Successful Single Moms Members a local experience in the magnificent City of Memphis. A celebration of movement began with Yoga Vibes in Midtown Memphis hosted by SSMM member Jackie Oselen (Jackie O).

We then transitioned to Vance No. 2 – The Room with an Awesome View for an intimate catered meal and fellowship and finished the evening at Embassy Suites, Shady Grove for a night filled with relaxing & refreshing overnight stay. SSMM members were invited to learn, meditate, and reap the benefits from the weekend by being open and excited about a life-changing, life-affirming experience that would nurture their spirit, mind and body. Some of the activities included: Navigating through Life Changes! A Vision Casting session where each attendee created a vision board. Journey to the Inner Self! Journaling & Group session and the Jackie O! Yoga experience.

In addition to fellowship, food & fun!

EMBRACE

Successful Single Moms Memphis is committed to embracing the community in efforts that help single moms and their families as a whole. Giving back is an essential part of our community outreach and mission. Below are pictures from the Memphis in May Triathlon & Operation Cool down!

ENCOURAGE Survive & Thrive Single Moms Conference Oklahoma City, OK The Survive ‘N’ Thrive Conference is a national single mothers’ conference, which originated in the state of Oklahoma eight years ago by co-founders Pam Kanaly and Shelley Pulliam. Its purpose is to bring hope to single mothers in their roles of raising children alone. The trademarked name “Survive ‘N’ Thrive” has received national recognition, having appeared on Christian television pro-grams such as The 700 Club. It's traveled to Texas, Arizona, and Tennessee. Successful Single Moms Memphis attended this year’s conference to network and to connect with single moms across the world.

Award Winning

Top Left: Best in Black Awards– Best Women’s Organization Top Right: Networking in Memphis– Community Activist Middle: Heal the Hood Game Changer Award Bottom: 2012 Stone Awards-Outstanding Community Activist

2012 Partnerships

SSMM Programs

Leadership Training for Single Moms Only.

Focuses on Emotional & Financial Strength and Strength of Character & Purpose!

Forget Me Not Mentoring Program offers Single Moms an opportunity to receive a mentor to help them steer through life and career transitions.

G.E.M.S. Single Mom Support Group offers Single Moms an opportunity to build meaningful relationships with other women of possibilities, purpose and power!

Family Literacy Program supporting literacy for the entire family and quarterly events to promote a love for reading!

Financial fitness for Single Moms focuses on creating an opportunity fund, individual and family savings, budgeting, insurance needs, credit counseling and more.

Health & Wellness Initiative that focuses on maintaining a healthy Mind, Body and Spirit for the entire family.

The Remember Mom Project Year after year, single moms spend most of their money on Angels in Action is a service group their children during special holidays, but with that was created to train and emschool-aged children, single moms often go power of the children of SSMM ungifted. The project seeks out gifts for single Members on how to make a difmoms during Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, ference in Memphis by giving and Christmas and their Birthdays. We honor and volunteering through various remember single moms for their love and supcommunity service projects. port provided to their children!

Annual Giving Program to support the resources, opportunities and programs of Successful Single Moms in Memphis. Supporters of Successful Single Moms Memphis are able to donate to the organization and help them seed success for our single moms!