Fristers Celebrates With Annual Graduation… Young Mothers Prepared For Their Futures
Irvine, California (PRWEB) May 13, 2015 -- Fristers (fristers.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting teenage mothers and their children, just announced that four more of their mothers will be graduating from their teen mom curriculum and support program.
“I started Fristers to help teen moms through that challenging time in their life, to address their specific needs as well as the needs of their children, and to direct them both towards self-sufficient and productive lives,” said Ali Woodard, president and founder of Fristers. “Seeing these young women and children, confident, happy, and prepared for their lives is extremely rewarding to me.”
The Fristers (Friends and Sisters) organization offers a place of safety, community, help, and hope to teenagers who have chosen to parent. Through a unique curriculum designed to suit their specific needs, young moms are given the opportunity to grow to become the best women and the best mothers they can be. Once the moms are self-sufficient, they are invited to graduate from the Fristers program.
“We want to celebrate their accomplishments and hard work, and inspire other young moms to believe that success really is possible by showcasing the real life stories of their peers,” adds Woodard.
Graduation is available to moms who are 25 years old or have been with the Fristers program consistently for 3 or more years and feel ready to move forward without the weekly support of Fristers.
One of this year’s graduates, Erin, is 23 years old and has a four year old daughter. This past December, Erin graduated from CSULB with a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Physiology, and now works full time at Quest Diagnostics and is doing extremely well.
“All of our graduates have made wonderful accomplishments and they are all ready and excited to move on with the next phase of their life,” added Woodard.
Once a graduate, moms are invited to join the Alumni program which includes serve days, where they can give back to the program that helped support them, opportunities to share their journey as a teen mother, invitations to the holiday celebrations and special events throughout the year, and the annual Chick Chat Alumni Conference. Graduates remaining part of their Fristers’ family as volunteers, teachers, friends and sisters are enabled to reach out to other teen moms that are in need of guidance and support, and to empower them to become the best women and the best mothers they can possibly be.
If you know of a teen mother in need, please urge her to contact the Fristers president and founder, Ali Woodard, or any of her wonderful staff at 949-387-7889 or info(at)fristers.org. For more information about Fristers and for a complete list of Fristers locations, visit fristers.org.
ABOUT FRISTERS
Fristers is a nonprofit organization, founded and operated on Christian principles, and is dedicated to supporting teenage mothers and their children. Every year over 400,000 teens give birth in the United States. Many lose the support of family and friends. Most have no high school diploma, no job, no driver’s license or car, and statistics show that nearly 70% live at the poverty level.
Fristers is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty and abuse among teen moms. Since its inception, the organization has helped hundreds of young women graduate high school, enroll in college and vocational training schools, get drivers’ licenses, find employment, get off of welfare and become loving, caring, responsible parents and role models to their children.
Fristers has six locations in Orange County that offer LifeCoach, a weekly program for teen moms, pregnant or parenting, within the ages of 13-24, and Kidsters Childcare and School Readiness Program for their children, ages 0-7. These programs and services are provided to the community free of charge, regardless of religion, race, or ethnicity and there is no religious requirement for the programs. For more information, please visit fristers.org.
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Janet Roberts, Young Company, +1 (949) 500-1367, [email protected]
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