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Shout out to all moms out there! It’s your special day. Parenting isn’t always easy, and single and adoptive parents sometimes have even more difficulties to face as parents. Despite the struggles, year round you are there to provide love, nurturing and support to care for your child and give them the best chances at a happy life.

The nuns at St. Elizabeth’s Girls Academy serve as adoptive moms to the students in a way. They take in orphaned children and provide the same nurturing, guidance and care at a time when children need it most.

In honor of all the adoptive moms out there, we wanted to give a special shout out to five celebrity women who were brave enough to take on adopting a child as single moms. They prove that while adopting children and single parenting can be difficult, it’s a worthwhile endeavor, because every child deserves the chance at a happy home life.

Sheryl Crow – A powerful female role model and leader in the music industry, singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow has always remained independent and chosen to carve her own path. After breaking up with then fiancé, Lance Armstrong, and amidst battling breast cancer, Crow still went after her dream to become a mom and adopted her first son Wyatt Steven Crow in April 2007. Three years later she adopted a second son Levi James Crow. Crow not only rocks as a musician, but as a single mom too!

Kristin Davis – Best known for her roles as Brooke Armstrong on Melrose Place and Charlotte York on Sex and the City, Kristin decided to adopt a daughter, Gemma Rose Davis in 2011. Between her charitable efforts in saving endangered Elephants, her acting career, and her most important role – being a mom, she doesn’t see herself getting married anytime soon!

Sandra Bullock – This Miss Congeniality is known for always staying true to herself and pursuing her passions – all while doing it with wit, style and class. Although Bullock began the adoption process with her then hubby, Jesse James, in 2009; in 2010 after the couple split Bullock announced that she would be finalizing the adoption as a single parent. Bullock proves that adopting isn’t a means to an end of achieving the perfect nuclear family. It’s about forming a bond with a child and giving them your love, time and affection.

Mary-Louise Parker – Leading lady and Best Actress Golden Globe Award Recipient, Mary-Louise Parker is a critically acclaimed actress best known to the public as Nancy Botwin on Showtime’s TV series Weeds.  However, we bet her adoptive daughter Caroline “Ash” Aberash Parker will say her most acclaimed role is simply being her mom. Parker adopted Caroline from Ethiopia in 2007.

Diane Keaton – Diane Keaton is known for playing strong, powerful female roles in great films such as Father of the Bride, The First Wive’s Club, Something’s Gotta Give and so many more… Keaton carries these roles into her personal life, proving you don’t need a partner to be a great parent. Keaton has adopted two sons Dexter (born 1995) and Duke (born in 2000) and is raising them as a single mom.

Being a parent isn’t easy. It gets even more complicated being a single, adoptive parent. Shout out to all the moms this Mother’s Day for giving children, biological or not, the love and care they deserve!

I recently watched A BBC miniseries “The Honourable Woman” and there was a particular statement that stuck out to me.

“Conflict is born from terror. Terror thrives on poverty and dies on wealth.” Wealth is created thru education.

Many studies have been conducted on the link between conflict and poverty. While the debate continues as to whether conflict causes poverty or vice versa, one thing is known to be true. Throughout the world, and especially in developing countries, conflict and poverty tend to come hand in hand.

When we look at solving conflict and poverty in developing countries, we must first look to the root cause, and that is terror. Conflict is born from terror. Two opposing groups have an extreme fear of something, presumably the biggest fear is loss. Loss of resources, money, loved ones. This is where terror begins to thrive on poverty.

Although it is a much-needed part of the solution, it’s not enough to provide money and resources such as roadways, wells, tools, etc. to decrease poverty and conflict-stricken areas. Once an area receives this aid, they must also be trained in how to use, maintain and ultimately achieve growth in this new lifestyle. If terror dies on wealth, we must find a way to maintain wealth in countries. The key to doing this is through education.

Therefore I propose this addition to the statement: “Conflict is born from terror. Terror thrives on poverty and dies on wealth.” Wealth is created thru education. That is the mission of Hope for Hearts. We take children who are dealing first-hand with the worst kind of poverty imaginable – homelessness, parentless, doing whatever it takes to find their next meal, shelter or other basic necessities – and give them the educational resources they need to become self-sufficient and end their cycle of poverty. With each donation to Hope for Hearts, you help take a child from poverty to prosperity through education. As a global community we become one step closer to ending terror. Let us be reminded of the Starfish Story:

For just $20 a month ($240 annually), you could make a difference by sponsoring a child at St. Elizabeth’s Academy. For more information visit: https://hope4hearts.org/sponsor-a-child/.

On Thursday, March 12, 2015 Las Vegas-based charities and donors will come together to “give where you live” by making online donations to their favorite charities. Hope for Hearts will be participating and we would like to ask for your support on this day.

A donation to Hope for Hearts, a Las-Vegas based non-profit, during Nevada’s Big Give not only supports a local non-profit, but the global community too as every dollar given benefits the students at St. Elizabeth Girls Academy (SEGA), an orphanage in Uganda, East Africa.

Hope for Hearts was founded in 2007 to help children living in conflicted areas lift themselves up from poverty to prosperity through education. Girls at the school lost their parents to the AIDs epidemic. Prior to coming to SEGA the girls were barely surviving – lacking in basic necessities such as food, clean water and shelter. SEGA educates up through technical and vocational skill training programs to help girls, and as of 2015 – boys, live independently.

Profile of Prosperity:

Ategeka Margaret “Maggie” – Maggie’s parents died of HIV/AIDS. A young girl with no family, she was led into a life of prostitution. A visiting bishop found Maggie on the streets and brought her to St. Elizabeth Girls Academy for counseling. Given an opportunity for an education, Maggie flourished in the hospitality vocation. Now self sufficient, Maggie works in housekeeping at a resort in Lake Country.

Your “Big Give” At Work:
You can help more children like Maggie make the move from poverty to prosperity by supporting Hope for Hearts during Nevada’s Big Give. For as little as $10, you can make a difference in the life of a child in Uganda. Every penny counts and here are just a few examples of the impact your donation can have:

• $25 provides two children a month of meals
• $120 purchases a sewing machine
• $240 one child, one year of education
• $625 feeds 50 for a month
• $1,200 sponsors five children for the entire year

How to Donate:
While Nevada’s Big Give is on March 12, you can schedule your donation in advance. Making a donation is as simple as: Point. Click. Give.

 1. Log on to www.nvbiggive.org and click “Schedule my Donation.
 2. Type in “Hope for Hearts” and click “Search.”
 3. Select our organization to see donation levels and make your contribution.

We know you have many options, and thank you in advance for supporting our organization.

With Sincerest Gratitude,
Cristen

Sunday, March 8 marks the 114th International Women’s Day, a day intended to bring awareness to one issue: equality and empowerment of women. Several events will be held worldwide, sparking conversations on the current state of gender inequality and finding possible solutions. This year, newly appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, and famous Harry Potter actress, Emma Watson is taking the conversation to the internet by hosting a live Facebook chat to talk about the He for She campaign and gender inequalities. You’ve got questions – she’s got answers. A great example of an educated, courageous and empowered woman, we applaud Watson for using her celebrity status and new position to bring awareness to women’s issues worldwide.

As we prepare to discuss women’s issues on Sunday, it’s important to take a brief look at the history of International Women’s Day and some of the global issues women still face today.

International Women’s Day came about in the early 1900’s as women in industrialized countries began to get more vocal and active to fight against inequality and disempowerment that had plagued them for centuries. While developed countries have seen significant changes since then, with more women having the right to vote, obtaining degrees, taking executive leadership roles in the workplace and even becoming elected officials, the fight is far from over. Not only do gender inequalities still exist in developed countries, they are far more egregious in third world countries where women face many cultural, political and economic barriers.

One of the biggest hurdles they face is lack of education. Knowledge is power and before we can begin to have conversations of workplace inequality for women in developing countries, like the ones we serve in Uganda, we need to have more women in the workplace. The key is providing women access to traditional and vocational education opportunities so that they are prepared with the intellectual resources to fight for equality and empowerment.

Special days like International Women’s Day bring awareness to the issues women face and ignite conversations with potential to bring about real solutions. As we prepare to discuss women’s rights on March 8, I challenge you to think beyond our borders to the global struggles women from all walks of life face.

For more information on the history of Women’s Day visit:
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp#.VPVoGFPF83B

View Emma Watson’s video invite to join the live Facebook chat here:

Peace,

Cristen