We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marketia White. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marketia below.

Marketia , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Covid has brought about so many changes – has your business model changed?

During COVID-19, Detroit and particularly disadvantaged communities experienced a tremendous amount of turmoil with accessing resources. Young mothers were hit hard, their ability to work, provide for their families, and understand new COVID policies for the labor and delivery hospitals was very new and very immediate. On top of this, stress of getting a deadly sickness was at an all time high. Many systems took a pause to understand how to make operations work under the new circumstances. Mommies in the D took this as an opportunity to pivot with what we have. Zoom platform had recently come out, but now was a primary way to meet with people. Facebook has messenger, and allows you to message or voice/video call someone from states away as well as someone right up the street. Virtual communication had become apart of life, and the best part of it all, the apps were all phone accessible.

Mommies in the D was founded in COVID to support young mothers, 14-22, to achieve their personal and parental goals. We have found that young mothers’ access to resources was limited because of transportation, so interactive virtual education has been our secret recipe to reaching our audience as well as our partners. Although COVID is slowing down, Mommies in the D still provides virtual programming because it works best for our young mothers. Understanding how to meet participants where they are has helped us stay grounded in the mission’s work.

Marketia , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Mommies in the D started and still runs as an act of love for the community of young mothers in Detroit. When MITD just began, I worked with amazing students of Osborn High School as an Americorp Member of City Year. It was an amazing experience, where students would confide in me some of their biggest hopes and dreams. Some of the conversations with the young ladies turned to confiding in me that they were pregnant. Now, we all know what the “stigma” of a young girl that is pregnant, but instead of judging them, I was determined to help them however I could. I worked with them on finding prenatal resources, taking them to breastfeeding classes, and empowered them to still put it as a top goal to graduate school, no matter how long it took!

I supported the mothers in many ways, and loved on them and their children, letting them know I was a part of their village, and I was cheering for them. One of the ways I gave back was a Mother’s Day Brunch (pre-pandemic) where I would provide breakfast, and one of my best friends, Isha, gave a self-care presentation, right in my living room. After that presentation, and seeing how involved the moms were in the organic “workshop”, we talked about what it could look like to help other young mothers find resources, or at the least, encouragement to keep pushing. This is where Mommies in the D was born!

From grassroots, Mommies in the D has grown into a 501(c)3 in 2020, a true testament to faith and hard work. This year, we have served over 171 mothers by way of providing support with finding and connecting with prenatal and postnatal, financial literacy, and mental health organizations and experts. MITD also provides a family favorite “Sunday Funday,” which is a great way for mothers to connect and engage in learning STEAM with their toddlers. I am super excited for the growth that we are making, but equally as invested and dedicated in making sure the mothers are being impacted in an equitable manner, despite the marginalized circumstances they may come from. It takes a village to raise a child, and MITD has created a way for do community to do its part as the village.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I am a bookworm for sure, I am the friend that would rather read a book than watch movies! There have been many books and essays that have changed my way of thinking about business. Specifically. it was important that I was intentional with changing weak habits that were in my personal life so I could be more whole in the transformational leader I am growing into. This is a work in progress, but the books help go back and understand how to get back on track.

I am currently reading Visioneering by Andy Stanley. This book is a guide to living a Christian life with development and clarity of vision. This book is helping me understand the levels of vision and how it wraps into my purpose in life.

Favorite Business Reads include: The 12 week year by Brian Moran, really great for project management; The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, the Big Rocks theory is now an engrained part of my life; and thanks to Michigan Nonprofit Association, I think every nonprofit leader should have Nonprofit Managment 101: Second Edition. This textbook covers all that there is to know about managing a nonprofit, and the many layers it takes to continue the mission in 501c3 organizations.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Defining what trust looks like for our young families and doing everything in our power to meet the young families’ trust has been the most effective strategy for growing and also retaining our families. When Mommies in the D establishes trust, the natural work of word of mouth, or motivation to continue to work with us is increased. Partners and Sponsors of Mommies in the D can see this is our biggest success, and are happy to support us in our continued programming.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mommiesinthed.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mommiesinthed
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mommiesinthed
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK8bjp6X1RU-7MS-qbToMCA