What are you doing for dinner on Tuesday?<\/p>\n
How about lunch?<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking for an excuse to eat out \u2014 or do a little shopping \u2014 head to Manhattan Beach, where 27 local businesses will participate in the city\u2019s first \u201cSingle Mom Project Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The one-day fundraiser will benefit the Single Mom Project, a nonprofit founded by Manhattan Beach resident Janet Jones that provides grants to local single mothers in need.<\/p>\n
Throughout the day, participating restaurants and retailers will donate either a portion of their sales or a designated amount to the Single Mom Project. Customers are encouraged to mention the Single Mom Project when they dine or shop so businesses know they\u2019re there to support the cause.<\/p>\n
Jones isn\u2019t setting a fundraising goal for Tuesday. In fact, she joked that if the event raises \u201c24 cents,\u201d she\u2019ll be ecstatic.<\/p>\n
The bigger goal, she said, is getting Manhattan Beach involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to engage the residents,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to get the business community excited and to know that, just 10 minutes away, there are families so in need of the help that they can give them.\u201d<\/p>\n
A single mother herself, Jones knows firsthand how quickly a family\u2019s financial circumstances can change.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how brutally hard it is \u2014 economically, psychologically and in every way imaginable,\u201d said Jones, a former television producer who now spends much of her time on local philanthropic efforts. \u201cUnless you\u2019ve walked in the shoes of a single mom, you cannot even imagine day to day how arduous it is to make your life work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones founded the Single Mom Project in 2020, initially providing $500 grants to 13 women receiving services through the Richstone Family Center, a Hawthorne nonprofit that supports children and families in need.<\/p>\n
Since then, the program, which still partners with Richstone, has grown significantly: This year, for example, Jones expects to distribute $1,000 grants to about 70 women.<\/p>\n
And while $1,000 may not seem like a lot when you\u2019re raising kids in Southern California, Jones said, it\u2019s not the amount that matters \u2014 it\u2019s helping the moms realize they\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can do something that makes them feel better, makes them feel there\u2019s hope, makes them feel that someone (cares) about them,\u201d she said, \u201cthen we\u2019ve done something right.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sentiment was echoed by Long Beach mother of four Katerra James, who received a grant from the Single Mom Project this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing that there were people willing to help,\u201d James said, \u201cmade me feel supported and reminded me that I didn\u2019t have to navigate everything alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The money James received, she said, helped her cover family expenses without needing to chose among various necessities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI applied because I knew the grant could give me some relief and help me provide greater stability for my family,\u201d James added. \u201cEven though $1,000 may not seem like a lot to everyone, it gave me peace of mind, breathing room and a sense of stability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones said she hopes Tuesday\u2019s fundraiser will eventually allow the Single Mom Project to increase the size of those grants.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to keep fundraising,\u201d Jones said, \u201cwith the hope that we will be able to give $2,000 every year to all of the people who deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manhattan Beach Mayor Joe Franklin, who helped recruit local businesses for Single Mom Project Day, said it didn\u2019t take much convincing to get them on board.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t surprise me in the least that so many businesses and restaurants were eager to help such a good cause,\u201d Franklin said. \u201cManhattan Beach is one of the most generous communities you will find. I think it may be because the Single Moms may live very close by, and we are happy to answer their calls for help. It makes me very proud of our residents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Participating businesses include Bella Beach, Brewco, Rock \u2018n Fish, Pages: a bookstore, Gum Tree, Pancho\u2019s, Lido di Manhattan, Uncle Bill\u2019s, Tabula Rasa, Shellback Tavern and Uncorked Wine. (See the full list below.)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s up to each business to decide how much will be donated to the Single Mom Project. But Manhattan Beach business owner Lisa Hemmat, who operates Lido di Manhattan and the new Georgia\u2019s Lounge in Redondo Beach, said she will give back 20% of the check for those who mention the cause on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a mom myself, I know how much love, time and energy it takes to raise a child,\u201d said Hemmat, who has a daughter in second-grade in Manhattan Beach. \u201cI have tremendous respect for hardworking single moms who are doing so much on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Business owner Kris Mackerer-D\u2019Errico, who owns the Manhattan Beach boutique Bella Beach, said she was happy to take part.<\/p>\n
\u201cJanet worked with me at Bella Beach, and finding out her story as a single mom and raising her two wonderful boys, and hearing about the trials and tribulations of single moms, was so impressive,\u201d Mackerer-D\u2019Errico said. \u201cAnd then hearing about and seeing all of her wonderful efforts and results regarding the Single Mom Project. We are so proud of her and all the good she is doing, the ripple effect she is having \u2014 and we get to be a small part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Single Mom Project isn\u2019t Jones\u2019 only community effort. She also started the Kindness for Kids books initiative in Manhattan Beach, which supplies local libraries with children\u2019s books about kindness and inclusion, and spearheaded Crossing Guard Appreciation Day, now in its third year.<\/p>\n
But the Single Mom Project is particularly personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my husband walked out on us, our lives nosedived. And by that, I mean financially, it became a catastrophe,\u201d said Jones, who became a single mom when her boys were 10 and 7. \u201cI\u2019ll be honest, paying the mortgage, paying the home insurance, getting clothes for my kids, was very difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t forgotten crying into my pillow at night,\u201d she added. \u201cTrust me, I don\u2019t forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n
But one Mother\u2019s Day in 2012, when Jones was struggling as a single mother, an unexpected card arrived in the mail from a friend who was dying of brain cancer. Inside was a $5,000 check and a message saying he wanted Jones and her boys to thrive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t matter the amount. Trust me, it didn\u2019t,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat mattered is that he was saying, I (care) about you. And I hope maybe this will make your life a little better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Years later, Jones said she hopes to give other single mothers that same feeling of support.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want them and their children to thrive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Single Mom Project Day<\/p>\n
The Single Mom Project Day will take place all day Tuesday, Sept. 8. Participating businesses will donate either a portion of their sales or a designated amount to the Single Mom Project. Customers are encouraged to mention the Single Mom Project when dining or shopping to let businesses know they are there to support the cause.<\/p>\n
Participating businesses include: Bella Beach, Brewco, Culture Brewing Co., Esperanza, F\u00eate Bistro by Slay, Go Gently Nation, Gum Tree, Hennessey\u2019s Tavern, Lido di Manhattan, Love & Salt, Mangiamo, Musette, OB\u2019s Pub & Grill, Pages: a bookstore, Pancho\u2019s Restaurant, Right Tribe, Riley Arts, Rock\u2019n Fish, Shellback Tavern, Slay Italian Kitchen, Sloopy\u2019s, Tabula Rasa, Uncle Bill\u2019s, Uncorked Wine, Waterleaf and zinc@shade.<\/p>\n