Gifts For Moms

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I spent most of my life pursuing and fulfilling my dream of becoming a successful businesswoman. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would have children. Having watched my mother struggle to raise four children alone, I plotted my future very carefully to avoid falling into the same trap.

After graduating from San Francisco State University, I worked as a journalist at several major newspapers, the last of which was the Dallas Morning News. I went on to open my first art gallery selling primarily African American Art. I then moved my gallery to Deep Ellum where I sold contemporary abstracts. I closed my Deep Ellum gallery in 2005, reopened
in Plano in 2006 and finally closed my gallery in December of 2007.

My driving force professionally was to ensure that I would always have choices along with the freedom that comes from being independent. Mygreatest fear was to be left on my own with children and a mortgage. As a result, I consciously avoided any situations that might result in my having children. In June of 2006, my fears were realized after I received a call from a young woman who I had helped 15 years before. She told me that the state of Texas had taken her children and asked if I would get them back and keep them. With some reservation and a lot of nudging from the Holy Spirit, I became a single mother to two toddlers whom I had never met. Casey was 18 months old and Crissah was 2 ½ years old. I had no idea what to do with them.

My first year as a mom was the hardest time of my life. I sank into a deep depression compounded by the financial woes from raising two children with no financial help. I knew that if I didn’t do something to remedy my situation, there wouldn’t be a next year for me. My bible teaching taught me that when you think about others, you don’t think about yourself. As Christmas 2008 approached, I decided to purchase gifts for other single mothers to brighten their lives. When my friends and the North Texas Community fell in line behind me in full force, Gifts For Moms was born.

Today I own a marketing and public relations company called Red Lime Media. I am an art commissioner for the City of Plano and a member of Chase Oaks Church in Plano. My daughter, Crissah, is seven years old and my son, Casey, is five years old. I help as many single moms as I can and in my spare time, I sleep. You may contact me at stephaniestips@aol.com with questions.

“My bible teaching taught me that when you think about others,
you don’t think about yourself.” Stephanie Ward

As the first holiday season after my divorce approached, despair raised its ugly head. I have always felt extremely fortunate, blessed with a loving and supportive family, a close-knit and strong circle of friends, and two sons who are every mother’s dream. Yet even with all the blessings in my life, the loneliness and sadness of being a divorced single mother overwhelmed me. I knew that countless others were far less fortunate than me and therefore had to be in a lot more pain than I was. I was desperate to help ease this pain, but had no idea where to begin.

A newspaper article caught my eye. A single mom, Stephanie Ward, with two adopted children, was tired of feeling sorry for herself. She decided to launch a Christmas gift drive to help other single moms. Although I had always tried to help children and families at Christmas, I had never actually considered the hidden plight of single moms. Single moms generally go to great lengths to make Christmas special for their children, even with greatly limited resources. But no one makes Christmas special for these single moms.

I called Stephanie and before I knew it, I was swept away by the momentum of her project, Gifts for Moms. The gift drive grew uncontrollably and within days, we planned a party at Stephanie’s friend’s art gallery, Brinker Corporation donated food and people came out of the woodwork with countless offers of help. Stephanie’s enthusiasm and energy were unstoppable. We hosted over 100 women, provided babysitting for their children, gifts for the moms, live music and a magical atmosphere. The joy was palpable and the attendees concurred that nobody had ever done anything like this for them before. The giveaway continued and we ultimately gave away gifts to over 250 moms.

As the year ended and a new year began, I watched in awe as Stephanie embraced every opportunity to help countless mothers in need or in pain, even while dealing with her own struggles. I recognized that single mothers struggling to raise their children constituted a vastly underserved segment of our society. I was inspired by Stephanie’s spirit and can-do attitude and I knew that I was destined to be an active
participant in her effort to help empower single mothers.

As time has progressed, Stephanie has become a part of my own heart. We have developed a friendship that I believe can move mountains, and for which I am immensely grateful. You may contact me at crazyhazy16@verizon.net with questions.

“Single moms generally go to great lengths to make Christmas special for their children, even with greatly limited resources.
But no one makes Christmas special for these single moms.” Hazel Alterman