By Cris Greer
WKTV Managing Editor
Local philanthropist Dr. Carla Ludwig said like many nonprofits, hers was started based on a personal story.
Her inspiration: Her youngest daughter Christina.
“My husband John and I had a daughter who became pregnant during her freshman year of college,” said Ludwig, founding director of Hope for Single Moms, to WKTV. The complete story and more can be seen on her website Hope for Single Moms. “My daughter and granddaughter (Ashley) moved away from Michigan when my granddaughter was nine months old. Without a career with a $40,000/year or more income, it was always going to be a struggle to pay the bills.
“A year after they moved, my husband and I offered our daughter the opportunity to go back to college. Long story short, she went back to college with a two-year-old, and I just saw a lot of challenges to success. I think the hard part was just to see that there wasn’t the support and resources at the university available to her.
“But honestly, we weren’t independently wealthy. What could I do? I tried to dismiss the thought. But God pursued me. I really didn’t know what I could do.”
Fashion for a Future (Photos Courtesy of Brock Visuals)
Hope for Single Moms client Kayla and two of her children in clothes by Runway Angels. (Courtesy, Brock Visuals) 
Hope for Single Moms client Tanya and her two children in clothes by Runway Angels. (Courtesy, Brock Visuals) 
Melisa Rose in clothes by Ashley Kinsey. (Courtesy, Brock Visuals) 
Taryn Taplin (model, event coordinator, model coordinator) walks the runway wearing clothes by Ashley Kinsey. (Courtesy, Brock Visuals) 
Doofan Iortyer walks the runway in clothes by Ashley Kinsey. Fashion for a Future. (Courtesy, Brock Visuals) 
Celebrity model Terri DeBoer, former WOOD TV 8 meteorologist. (Courtesy, Brock Visuals)
Ludwig said it was a privilege to be included in her daughter’s journey.
“This experience showed me how hard single parenting is,” Ludwig continued. “I learned about the barriers single moms have to just about anything and everything in life. And then there’s the stress of trying to pay bills. But most striking was seeing the isolation and loneliness of being a single mom.
“I’ve learned a lot. It’s a privilege to be able to now serve the West Michigan community. After she graduated, we went and said, ‘Let’s do it here in Michigan.'”
Fashion for a Future
One of the events Ludwig created to fundraise for Hope for Single Moms is Fashion for a Future, which held a third annual benefit on Sept. 28 at New Vintage Place in Grand Rapids.
Statewide celebrities like WOOD TV8’s Terri DeBoer, former Detroit Tigers pitcher Dave Rozema, who was on the team during its 1984 World Series Championship, and NPR/PBS host Shelley Irwin took part in the fashion show, the major fundraiser for Hope for Single Moms.
Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Dave Rozema hit the runway (see video above)
“I just met Carla this week and what a fantastic organization she has,” said Rozema, who walked the runway at the fashion show and signed autographs as well. “Carla’s a tremendous person. I just can’t see men assaulting wives … I’ve been married for 38 years and that’s unacceptable, so I’m helping out here. I have a nice couple of outfits and I’m here to sign autographs, raise money, and brought some donations in from Tram (Alan Trammell) and Kirk (Gibson) to help out. Every little bit counts.”
A native of Grand Rapids, Rozema graduated from Grand Rapids Central High School where his junior and senior seasons were spent as an all-city pitcher for the baseball team. He later pitched for the Detroit Tigers for eight years, including the 1984 World Series championship season. He retired from baseball after 10 years, posting a 60-53 record, 17 saves and a 3.47 ERA.
Fashion for a Future draws 200 people
“There were about 200 people there plus an additional 60 volunteers, including 20 professional models,” Ludwig said. “One flew in from New York City, one drove in from Cadillac, Traverse City and Kalamazoo. Everyone had a great time and learned about the needs of single mom families and how they, through partnering with Hope for Single Moms, can address those needs with real solutions that lead to transforming lives. Not only have people donated, but they are volunteering to help these families thrive.
“What people like about our program is that Hope for Single Moms provides long-term solutions. Their donations remove the financial barriers to a career education. They know these families will maintain economic independence because they are learning the life skills needed to do so. When I can tell a donor that a family will move from poverty to prosperity in about three years, they know they are making a difference and changing lives.”
Emcee Jennifer Feurstein (ABC 4 West Michigan)
“Jennifer Feuerstein has been our emcee all three years,” Ludwig said. “She has been a solo mom for eleven years, so it’s a cause close to her heart.”
Fashion show featured designer Ashley Kinsey
Ashley Kinsey was the featured fashion designer at the event showing 17 looks from her new collection. A designer in the industry for about 20 years, she has worked for a variety of companies, including major brands like Anthropologie, J.Crew, Cato Fashions and most recently Meijer.
“I support this event just because I love what they’re doing for single moms, helping them get educated, giving the mentorship that they need so that they can support their children better in the long run,” said Kinsey, who donated 20 percent of the sales of the show’s designs to Hope for Single Moms.
Grand Rapids Ballet School and Junior Company Director Attila Mosolygo
“I’m very grateful to be part of this wonderful event,” Mosolygo said. “I always look for opportunities to reach out into the community, to do community work, and this a fantastic way to do it. I work with a lot of students on a daily basis … and it’s good to know that there’s somebody out there that’s thinking of those single parents, single moms and their kids and their difficulties. I could not say no to this event.”
“Education is the key”
As Ludwig will tell you, one of the key headlines on her Hope for Single Mom’s website states: “Education is the key to moving single mom families from poverty to prosperity!”
When helping her daughter Christina she noticed, “many organizations/programs offered short-term material assistance to single moms and their children. Good and necessary, but there were no long-term solutions available.”
“Our program is for single parents who are full-time students in college or trade school,” Ludwig continued. “Our goal is to help parents and their young children develop the educational and family life skills needed to achieve self-sufficiency.”
Teach a woman to fish approach
“What that means is helping a woman get the education she needs to provide well for her children,” Ludwig explains. “Hope for Single Moms focuses on a career education, but also provides community, life assistance and mentoring.
“Not only do we give them a career education, but we have volunteers who help with life assistance, such as budgeting. If they honestly need it, whatever it takes.”
A holistic/whole person approach
“We really want to have a holistic approach so that we’re not just throwing money at them to go back to school, but we want to set them up for success,” she explained. “So, in addition to finances, we also provide mentors. We also provide life assistance teams because some of our clients don’t have a supportive family. We want to be that help and encouragement that they need.”
Four new families to help
“We’re about $6,000 short of the goal, but are moving forward with our four new families, two of whom were there,” said Ludwig, whose organization is providing laptops, car repairs, tuition bills, car insurance and gas money, among other expenses. “We also have two families on our waitlist to enter the program.”
“People often have stereotypes about single moms; however, once they meet the women we work with, that stereotype is broken. We are able to transform so many lives with not a ton of money, and of course, because our staff is all volunteers. These women have already done so much of the groundwork and are highly motivated.”
West Michigan is very generous
Ludwig talked about the upcoming holidays and said they’ll be asking the community to make sure every family has the food they need for the holiday.
“We also do a holiday gift drive,” she continued. “Each family has a Christmas wishlist we put on Amazon, and people can buy as little or as much as they want. West Michigan is very generous and we often have couples who buy everything for an entire family for Christmas.”
For more information on how to donate, visit Hope for Single Moms.
