Back to school season is hard for most parents. Running to get last minute supplies, packing lunches, and pick up times can make the first couple of weeks very hectic. For single parent households especially. But for all of those single mothers, there is an organization that can help.
Single Women In Motherhood (S.W.I.M) is a non-profit organization that offers a variety of programs geared towards enriching the lives and futures of single mothers.
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Ann-Marie Ricketts, the executive director and founder of S.W.I.M, was raised by a single mother herself in Toronto, Ont. Not to mention she was a single mother herself for over 13 years. Moving to London and raising her three children on her own, Ricketts was watching a TV show featuring Canadian multi-billionaire, Micheal Lee-Chin. He became an inspiration to her, teaching her that crisis either equals danger or opportunity.
“I jumped up that night and I said, ‘Okay, talk to me, what’s my purpose!’” Explains Ricketts. “Then bam, two days later, a friend came by to visit and I kept saying, I got an idea.”
S.W.I.M was then created in the living room of Ann Marie Ricketts and has been growing since 2001.
Ann-Marie Rickets (front) and her team of volunteers (SingleWomenInMotherhood)
Since then, Ricketts and her team of volunteers have implemented various workshops, seminars, and even daycare programs all in order to support single mothers emotionally, physically, spiritually, and even financially.
“After a couple years, we were able to launch our Strong Mother Achieving Remarkable Tribe (S.M.A.R.T) Scholarship.”
The SMART scholarship is awarded every year at their annual Londons Got Talent Show, a night where the children of some singles mothers get to show off their skills and compete for prizes.
Ember Thomas was one of the previous scholarship winners back in 2018, saying that it not only felt amazing to be recognized, but supported.
“Receiving the scholarship gave me the feeling that I was doing something valuable,” she explains. “I didn’t have a lot of support from my family or friends in even going back to school so having that extra support, that extra person cheering you on and saying that you have potential and you know you can do it is kind of what you need to help you get through difficult times.”
After giving out a total of fourteen S.M.A.R.T Scholarships in previous years, this year they will be giving out 3 scholarships at their annul London’s Got Talent event.
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“I’ve always dreamt to see women walking across the stage with their heads up high, showing up and coming out to say ‘here I am. I’m not another statistic,’” Ricketts explains. “And that’s why we’re here saying ‘hey sister we got you, you’re not alone.”
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“I was raised by a single mom,” explains S.W.I.M. volunteer coordinator Emilee Farquhar. “So working with an organization that kind of gives back to them felt like full circle for me.”
After working with the organization since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Farquhar advises all single mothers out there to “rest if you must, but don’t quit.”
To that Ricketts says “it’s what S.W.I.M is all about; Empowering single moms, making a difference in their lives and their children’s lives, because when a mom is strong, she raises strong kids. When strong kids are raised, we raise a stronger community.”
Sourced Image: Single Women In Motherhood
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