We were lucky to catch up with Leslie Cason recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Leslie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
2020 was a YEAR! At the time I was a military spouse with an active duty husband who was not allowed to come home from his current duty station, because we, his family were outside of the travel radius that was allowed. So myself, and our two kids who had just turned 1 and 4 were left to figure out how to navigate those interesting times alone for about 4 months. I was blessed to be working from home, HOWEVER I was working from home! With Kids, who were not in school or daycare! So you can just imagine OR you are triggered by this fond memory!
As we learned to navigate our new routines, I had other mom’s express to me how stressed out they were, or how hard it was for them regardless of their financial status. They were tired physically and mentally. I felt for them and I at the same time I recognized I did not feel alone in this new adjustment. During this time I also started contemplating what was my true purpose in life. I am a giver at heart, so I wanted to be able to somehow give back to others around me. Mom’s have a special place in my heart. Not just for the mom’s who have living children, but also the ones who never were able to meet their children, or who had to say good bye to them shortly after they entered this world. I have suffered a a midterm miscarriage myself. As painful and heartbreaking as it was, I was able to connect with another community of women who encouraged me, prayed for me, picked me up and helped change my whole outlook on life.
As I merged the pandemic and my miscarriage experiences together, I knew what I needed to do. So in July of 2020 Mommy Love (ML) was founded. It’s mission is empowering mothers to navigate life’s tough circumstances by assisting with basic needs, encouraging self-care and providing the tools to help new moms and moms to-be-thrive.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
As a “retired” military wife and mom of two, I have directly experienced the joys, stresses and transformation that motherhood presents. I recognized the need to provide a safe space for moms to find the emotional, social, spiritual, and practical support needed along the journey. As the center of most families, moms serve as the core for household stability, yet rarely avail themselves or have access to the support systems that can ease their burdens.
To assist our mom’s in need we provide “Mommy Love Kits” for children between the ages of 0 to 3. The toddler stage is tough, regardless of how many kids that one may have. To assist with this stage I created Mommy Love kits that provide essential items such as diapers, wipes, baby toiletries, laundry essentials, etc. We are also in the process of partnering with other service resources to assist our mom’s. These services would include housekeeping, dietitians, daycare options, counseling and more!
We are proud of how we integrate as a organization into our community. We participate in community baby showers, holiday giveaways for the underserved, and assisting mom’s and their families who are in need. If we can’t assist a need, we will definitely find someone within the community who can! We love to network to ensure that needs are being met!
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Non-profits tend to move differently from for profit’s. I used some of my personal funds to get Mommy Love off the ground the first year. I did a lot of “investing” in myself and the organization. Next came donation drives. These drives included the community so they could donate to the mom’s as well. The items that were collected helped to keep down the budget for purchasing items for the Mommy Love Kits. I have also had companies sponsor different items and expenses that were needed. And last but not least receiving grants definitely goes a long way to funding a non profit
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I have a big heart, and if I am not careful people will take advantage of that. I have a team of amazing board members that keep me in check most times! LOL. We created streamlined processes to assist mom’s and provide checks and balances of who receives what items and how often. We had situations where mom’s would request item’s and then no-showed. That is a waste of time and energy for myself and my team. So we have implemented a confirmation step to ensure the moms will pick up their items. If they are still a no show, they are put on a “blacklist”. We have ways to ensure that they will not try and circumvent our processes in the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mommylovefoundation.org
- Instagram: @mommylovefoundation
- Facebook: @mommylovefoundation
Image Credits
Personal Photo: Gianna Snell Photography