One day while driving I had come up with the idea for Adopt a Mom but admittedly it was on a much smaller scale than what actually transpired. Once we completed the project successfully I knew anything was and would be possible. A couple of months ago Kim and I sat at Kudus Coffee bar downtown Charleston and for 4-5 hours  we worked on the paperwork to file our 501(c). One of our requirements is to detail all our projects both past and projected. So on that day, Kim and I brainstormed the impossible and the dreamy ideas - exquisite to the details and nothing left out our gigantic imaginations. We've decided to share with you some of those ideas so you can get as excited as we did coming up with them. Aside from that day at Kudu's some projects are simply inspired such as Project Hope which was inspired by, Glenda, a high school friend of my moms who made a donation. To honor her and her own struggles with Ovarian Cancer, Project Hope was born.

How a candidate is chosen

Obviously there needs to be a certain amount of need, but those needs can be different for different people - it isn't always about money. Our criteria for choosing a woman is very strict - she must be already trying to help herself, isn't looking for a handout, but rather a helping hand up. Most of our candidates have never heard of Isabelle's House, we seek them out. She must have an amazing attitude and spirit, someone that most people would never know the struggles she faces. She is someone who, despite her own circumstances, would help someone else in need just because that's who she is and its the right thing to do. She loves life, so much that she is infected with the idea of living it as best as she can with what she has even if that means making a picnic when all you have is a can of soup and two slices of stale bread in your cupboard. She is real and honest, and is doing the best she can and making choices that may be difficult but are the healthiest for her at the time. In other words, our candidates are powerful women who for one reason or another have been knocked down one too many times in life and simply needs us to lend her a hand so she can get up, brush herself off, and get back on track. It's really that simple.

 

The scenes behind the project

So many people believe that most of the work happens the day of the project. The day of the project is undoubtly a ton of work and some of our projects take every ounce of energy that all the volunteers can possibly muster up. The Adopt a Mom project was one of those projects that kicked our butt the day we did the makeover. Everyone who was there that day knows how hard every single person worked in that hot, humid Charleston heat in an unairconditioned house. It was more than any of us ever expected. Yet we got it done, and we did it with such style and it looked amazing. We did what no one else could have in those circumstances - not without the same amount of passion, and energy and teamwork.

Before a project happens though there is about two months of planning. Finding the candidate means networking, talking to people, making phone calls, emails and finally the interview. Once a candidate is chosen the work truly begins - the emails, the fundraising, finding the donations and once you have someone to donate something you have to make time to get it or meet them, then find a place to store it. More phone calls, more emails, call companies which I found isn't as effective as showing up and talking to a manager so there is a lot of driving all over town to different companies and telling them who you are, what you are doing, why you are doing it and what they can do to help. Sometimes I think I can recite the entire story of a project in my sleep by the end of the day. Whatever donations we don't get, we have to go buy. Through all this we are continually assessing the needs of a candidate, and meeting with her numerous times. Every time a donation comes in, the website has to be updated. The email newsletters go out constantly to keep all of you up to date. Then there are the volunteers - getting them, confirming them, and putting them in a place where they will be the strongest and at the same time enjoy themselves. Finding people who will be strong leaders so they can help with coordinating the day of the project.

I had a ton of busy little bees on the sidelines doing different things - visiting grocery stores to get grocery cards donated, someone working on getting us media coverage, someone else working on getting more donations including furniture, having someone else work on getting all the landscaping items we needed, someone working on making sure the volunteers are fed and watered the day of the project and there was food and music for the After Party. I had many angels such as these people - who without them I never would have been able to do it all.

I learned on the Adopt a Mom project that the fastest way to an anxiety attack and becoming my own candidate is to try to manage all this on my own, that is why I am so grateful to have Kim and Miriam to now help me with all these tasks. There is more that goes on than meets the eye. The day a project actually takes place is the day I get to take a sigh of relief and breathe again. But being behind the scenes is amazing - its amazing to see it all come together and to see the small tiny miracles that happen along the way. I wouldn't want to miss those moments for the world!