Two years ago, Melanie Lightbourn-Rowe was newly divorced, new to the Santa Clarita Valley, and facing an uncertain future. Melanie needed a lifeline. She found one in Single Mothers Outreach (SMO), and thanks to donors like you, she got the help she needed. SMO shared her journey as she worked toward self-sufficiency.

“I got so much more than I had bargained for,” she says. “I had a ton of financial issues that I didn’t know how to resolve, but through SMO and the programs they offer, like Financial Peace University, I was able to pay off my debt and focus on saving for emergencies.”

Our contributors and more than 130 volunteers make a major difference in the lives of single parents and their children. Thanks to contributions from our donors, SMO provides programs and services that strengthen families and help as many as 450 single parents each year on their journey to independence.

Only through the generosity of our supporters can we help single parents like Melanie, whose outlook today is much brighter than it was just two years ago.

“As single parents we are not hopeless, nor are we crippled by our circumstances. We are uniquely strengthened because there is something that resides in us that pushes us to greatness,” she says. “We seldom seek help for ourselves because we are proud to be self-sufficient. I had to place my pride in my back pocket. I realized that if a little help goes a long way, then a lot of help could change a life! And that is what SMO provides.”

If you have already contributed to SMO’s 2013 giving campaign, we sincerely thank you for your continued support, and for helping us continue to change lives. If you have not yet done so, we hope the successes of the parents we serve will inspire you to continue supporting our programs for single parents. All donors will be honored on a special page at ShareTheirJourney.org and on a banner at our Newhall office.

You can make your contribution online at SingleMothersOutreach.org. We also encourage you to follow us on Twitter, @SMOSantaClarita, as we strive to guide single mothers on their journey toward self-reliance.

Sincerely,

DaAnne Smith, Executive Director

Jeffrey Shapiro, Board President

P.S. We are proud to announce that your contribution will be generously matched by the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation.