Birthstone News
August 2024
“You are my fairy God mother! God sent you into my life because He knew my life still had purpose. God Bless you and all the other people that help make this possible.” – Birthstone Resident
Through your prayers and support, in just over 3 years, we have purchased, rejuvenated, and furnished 3 beautiful homes into which we have welcomed 5 individual families. As one of our Residents says so beautifully above, Birthstone is changing lives! Our unique Program is the platform through which our single moms can invest in themselves with tangible positive results, which we believe will have a generational impact.
We are proud of our Residents, and are excited to share how the 3 moms currently in the Program are flourishing:
Nearly homeless when she began, this mom just celebrated her 2nd anniversary with us. During that time, she has excelled! She recently completed her second semester at Washington University, maintaining her scholarship and a 4.0 GPA. All this while working and raising her child. She attributes her success directly to our Program: her weekly Life Coaching, the safety and stability of her Birthstone home, and the additional support and resources we provide.
This mom arrived pregnant with a 2-year-old, after fleeing a domestic violence situation. While challenged by maintaining childcare for baby and a now 3-year-old with special needs, she is employed at a local Early Child Development Center. Through her Birthstone coaching, she has identified nursing as her career path, and just enrolled at a local college to begin taking classes toward her RN. We have also connected her with resources for her firstborn, through which she is now receiving intensive support for this child’s special needs.
When she was referred by a local pregnancy resource center, this mother of a newborn son and two young boys had no planned future, significant debt, and the challenge of single parenting. Life Coaching with her Birthstone Resident Advocate was transformational, the process through which she came to believe in herself and identify her own capabilities. She was recently promoted and is obtaining her certification as a Child Development Associate. This designation will open a career path with sufficient income to achieve financial independence for her family. Through Birthstone, she also accessed financial planning resources where she learned how to develop and adhere to a closely planned budget, leading her to significantly lower her debt and begin to accumulate savings.
Our Residents are amazing! We are proud of them and it is a privilege to witness how they are able to blossom through the love, encouragement and unique long-term safety and support Birthstone offers.
They need and deserve our continuing support. Will you help them?
Please make a mid-year contribution to Birthstone - and together, let’s make their dreams a reality!
Thank you for CHOOSING LIFE. May the God of all good graces bless you abundantly this Christmas and in the New Year.
"lay my head in peace."
November, 15, 2023
I've learned that where I lay my head is so important. Here, I lay my head in peace." - Birthstone Resident
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Our generous donors have quite literally become peacemakers to a single mom who chose Life for her baby. We are so grateful to all of you who trust us with your time, talent and treasure, so we can rescue young mothers from critical, often dangerous, circumstances.
"Birthstone has been life-changing. The program has given my children and I a safe space to get things sorted out." - Birthstone Resident
Our mothers come to use with difficult histories - homelessness, abuse, trauma, insufficient employment and underdeveloped life skills. We lovingly give these mothers and their children a beautiful, safe home in which to live, but as importantly, to also restore their dignity.
Our Newest Residents
Through our cornerstone coaching program, they begin to visualize, often for the first time, the amazing life God has planned for them. They may begin our program timidly and understandably slow to trust, but with support and guidance, these brave women start to believe God's promise of "plans to prosper and not to harm...plans for hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) It often brings us to tears when we notice the moment these deserving young women begin to believe in themselves-and then we witness the inevitable, inexplicable joy that follows, for both mothers and children.
Because of our generous donors, we have accomplished so much over the past 3 years. Here is a glimpse:
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Purchased, renovated and fully furnished three beautiful, safe residences since March 2021.
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Accepted five mothers and their children into our Program since August 2021.
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Celebrated our first resident's graduation from the Program in January 2023
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Welcomed two new families in 2023.
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Expanded and strengthened our relationships with collaborating St. Louis agencies.
With your tax-deductible donation to Birthstone, you can be the hands of God for these precious families! Help us meet this essential basic need, a place to
March 23, 2023
Late winter/early spring has been quite busy for us at Birthstone.
Open House
While refreshing one of our homes to welcome a new family, we took the opportunity to host an open house for our referring agencies and friends. It was a lovely day of collaboration among many agencies with a shared mission to support single mothers and their children.
Another Birthstone Home
We are excited to announce that with the foundation grant we received, we recently closed on the purchase of another Birthstone home! More updates to come as we ready this home for a deserving family.
Mary Queen of Peace Lenten Project
Birthstone was honored to be the selected as Mary Queen of Peace’s Lenten Project. Funds raised will be used for furnishings and improvement projects at our newest Residence. Thank you, MQP!
Teleo Coffee - Love Your Neighbor
Each quarter, patrons of Teleo Coffee in Downtown Kirkwood choose a recipient for its ‘Love Your Neighbor’ program. This quarter Birthstone was selected! Not only are proceeds of the special LYN Latte going to Birthstone, Teleo also helped with our Open House. Thank you, Teleo!
This is only possible because of the support of our generous donors. Thank you for your vital participation in our ministry!
February 20, 2023
So much is happening, it's time for a Birthstone news update!
We want to congratulate one of our residents, an amazing single mother that has begun her graduate program, pursuing a masters in social work, while still working full time. She is utilizing her talents and the support of the Birthstone program and is so grateful to all our donors that help make this possible.
Also, we want to congratulate another resident who graduated from the program with the tools needed to flourish. We wish her and her children well as they navigate this new chapter.
We are in the process of working with our referring agencies to find the next Birthstone family!
We are thrilled to report we have received a foundation grant which makes it possible to purchase an additional home. We are in the real estate market actively seeking another house to transform into a Birthstone home.
Thank you for supporting Birthstone, making these transformational, generational differences possible.
August 10, 2022
Our newest Residents thank you for your support!
June 16, 2022
We're pleased to announce that we have completed renovating and furnishing our newest Residence in Kirkwood, and our Resident moved in today with her beautiful 1-year-old daughter. She is overwhelmed with excitement!
Not to be outdone, our Des Peres Resident will deliver her 2nd child on Monday.
Exciting time for Birthstone - we are filled with Hope!
April 26, 2022
This last Saturday, Birthstone hosted another successful Volunteer Day as we continue to ready our second Residence (in Kirkwood) for occupancy by a deserving single mother. Nineteen spirited volunteers armed with rakes, shovels, elbow grease and joyful dispositions transformed the home by the end of the day.
Since April 2021, more than 60 Volunteers have contributed approximately 700 hours of time, talent and resources in making Birthstone a reality.
April 11, 2022
Birthstone is excited to announce that today, Debbie Mays of Kirkwood, MO has joined our Team to provide much needed administative and general management support services. Debbie has years of relevant experience working in corporate sales, client support, new business development and operations.
Born and raised in Northern California, she now calls Kirkwood, MO home with her husband, Scott, where they are both actively involved in their church and community.
March 31, 2022
Birthstone is pleased to announce that it has purchased its second Residence. The home is located in a beautiful Kirkwood neighborhood, just blocks from Kirkwood schools and St Peter Parish.
The home will require some work to ready it for occupancy by one of the deserving single mothers we are currently interviewing. With the help of donors, volunteers and a generous local business community, we are hoping improvements and furnishings will be completed by Mid-June 2022.