Families helping Families
by Theresa Gallagher
It is truly a blessing to belong to Natomas Mothers’ Group. We are an incredible group of women bringing together our children and families to play with each other, learn from each other, and support one another. Through my years as a member I have gained insightfulness and perspective on motherhood and made some truly amazing lifelong friends. But my favorite part about being involved in this particular group is that we know the value of sharing the blessings we have with others in need. As successful as our fundraising was, we also found other ways to give back to Tubman House this year. A drive was organized to collect toys, books, diapers, and wipes to donate to Tubman for use in their childcare center. As mothers, we
can all certainly appreciate the value of these items and know how incredible it is to see a child get excited about playing with a new toy. We also plan to have book drive in the spring for our children to pick out books for the children at Tubman House. An employee at Tubman House contacted us to thank us for our donation. She said that it was incredible to receive a donation and the support of a mother’s group, as many of their young parents feel judged by the greater parenting community. My family and I have benefitted in so many ways from being a part of NMG and I am proud to be part of a group that finds a way to give back to the community our children are growing up in. I look forward to our continued support of Tubman House this year and other local charities in years to come. It is perhaps one of the most important lessons we can teach our children and our little way of making a difference in our community. Each year the Natomas Mothers’ Group chooses a charitable organization that we try to donate to and support throughout the year, and this year a very pressing issue made our choice clear. Tubman House in Sacramento is a local organization that supports young parents (17-21 years old) by helping them to complete job training, schooling, offering childcare, and teaching them necessary life skills (like budgeting) so they can successfully live on their own and support their families. Tubman House recently and unexpectedly lost their primary funding and was left desperate for help. This coincided with our annual NMG Halloween Party, which is our main event for raising money for the year’s charity. We had many members donate food for our lasagna dinner, which was available for purchase at the event. Katie Rozental, a member and local photographer, also donated her time and incredible skills to take pictures of the children at the pumpkin patch. The proceeds from the food and the pictures were collected for Tubman House. With the success and generosity of our members, and the
time and beautiful photos of our own Katie Rozental, we were able to donate $500 to Tubman House to help them in their time of need. This is the largest charitable contribution to date that we have made collectively as NMG!
