No son left behind

Hello and welcome to my blog!

My name is Brenda Montgomery and I am the founder of SMAS-Single Mothers and Sons which is a non-profit foundation. I am a divorced, now, Single Mom raising my son all on my own for the past eleven years. If you are a single Mom who is also raising a son, then you are probably no stranger to stress, exhaustion, sacrifice, strength, and determination when it comes to being a single Mom and providing for your son.

According to the most recent data for 2007 from the U.S. Census, 8.4 million boys under 18 were living with a single mother. That’s 22 percent of all boys in that age group in the USA.

My son is now 12 ½ years old and while he enjoys spending time with me, his Mom, he is at the stage where he craves hanging out with his friends and male influences such as his uncles, grandpa and other male role models and mentors where he can really be as physical and rough as he wants.

As my son gets older, I am coming to the realization that he does need that male influence because while I can teach him how to treat a woman, I can't teach how to be a man.

Over the past 12 years, I have talked to many friends, co-workers, church members, family members, neighbors and even strangers who are single moms raising their sons and they have all expressed similar convictions. And because this is such a huge epidemic, I decided that us Moms needed to come together and take a stance and work to reverse the increasing trend of single women raising children with little or no support.
The purpose of this non-profit foundation is to offer emotional and financial support, encouragement and empowerment while addressing many needs of Single Moms Raising Boys, specifically, when there is little or no help from the boys fathers. SMAS is open to all single mothers regardless of race, religion or economic status that are raising their sons alone, whether by choice, widowhood, divorce, legal separation or other circumstances due to absentee fathers .
In addition, we will focus on helping to provide male mentors and role models for our boys as they strive to become successful men. We will also offer educational assistance in tutoring, sports and college scholarships, which is just a few of the many opportunities and help that this foundation will focus on.
Initially, the members (Moms) of SMAS will be located in the following Northern California Bay Area counties : Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Solano.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and read my blog! I would like to hear your thoughts on being a Single Mom raising a son.

My very best regards,

Brenda Montgomery