Hope Network helps single moms in Milwaukee get cribs, diapers and tickets to Bucks games

As the single mother of two young children, Cortni Crum never thought $5 would mean she'd be able to take them to see a Bucks game.

But that's exactly what happened when she signed up to become a member of the Hope Network for Single Mothers in 2010.

At the time, her son, Trinell, was 5 and her daughter, Jasmine, was 11.

After she joined, she said she and her children attended events she never would have been able to afford on her own.

Those events, she said, “really helped bring our family together.”

Providing single mothers with family activities is an important service the Hope Network provides, said Executive Director Liz Beaudoin.

Since 1982, the network has provided resources to single mothers at all stages of parenting.

“Raising a child on your own is an incredible challenge and we want single moms to have the opportunities for their families and for themselves that are, a lot of times, out of reach,” she said.

Beaudoin has been executive director of the network, which employs a very small staff and around 50 volunteers, nearly two years.

With an annual membership of $5, single mothers can attend support groups, apply for scholarships and enjoy family enrichment activities, such as Bucks and Brewers games, museum visits and more.

The single mothers of newborns receive a portable crib with a wearable blanket, fitted crib sheet and information on safe sleeping habits as part of the network's effort to reduce infant mortality from co-sleeping. The crib also comes with a layette bag full of diapers, pacifiers, a rattle, infant towels, clothes and other items.

Single mothers who want to return to college can take advantage of the Edmund Springman Educational Grant or the Rachel Holley Sciortino Educational Grant. Last year, the organization awarded eight women $21,800 toward their tuition and/or child care costs.

RELATED:HOPE Network offers grants for single mothers

Beaudoin is currently preparing for the Single Mother's Trading Post, an event the network holds every first and third Thursday of the month from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Ascension Lutheran Church, 1300 S. Layton Blvd.

The event is free and open to all single mothers, members and non-members alike. To receive a bag of diapers, wipes and gently-used children's clothing, participants must bring at least two canned goods for the network's food pantry.

Gwen Washington often volunteers at the Trading Post events and donates clothing as a thank you.

Washington is the mother of four sons between the ages of 13 and 27 and the grandmother of several children including twin girls and a 6-year-old boy.

She learned about the network at a resource fair in 2004, where she picked up a brochure and ever since, she said she’s been grateful for the support.

“It’s named appropriately,” she said. “Sometimes, situations happen and you feel like you’re hopeless, but some of the resources they (provide) give you hope.”

Washington said the network also provides contact information for resources outside the organization such as food pantry locations, parenting classes, utility assistance and FAFSA help in their quarterly newsletter.

She said whenever she had trouble finding clothes for her children or needed low-cost babysitting options, the Hope Network was there.

“They really try to have people who truly understand the needs of single mothers,” she said.

Crum said both of her children look back and really value the opportunities they were able to experience through the network. Now, Crum's son, Trinell, gives back by volunteering to help distribute newsletters and Crum herself volunteers at Trading Post events.

"My time is what I can give," she said. "It's only $5 and you get back so much."

Contact Talis Shelbourne at (414) 223-5261 or tshelbourn@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @talisseer and Facebook at @talisseer. 

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