MELBOURNE, Fla. – This Mother’s Day, several single mothers in Brevard County will be treated to some gifts by the Love is a Verb Ministry through the Mommy Project Initiative.

“We want to honor and showcase single moms,” Doris Golindano, executive director of the ministry said.

Golindano knows first hand the hardships single moms experience. She raised four children and understands why women in a similar situation may not always seek help.

“They’re not going around telling you ‘hey, I’m having a really hard time at home.’ They go to work and you know she’s a single mom and you know that she works hard but it’s way worse than that, and you wouldn’t know unless you’re a single mom.”

To show some comfort during these hard times, Golindano is preparing large plastic bins with essential items to hand out to single moms for Mother’s Day.

“We have toilet paper, paper towels, wipes, but for mom, you know, we want mom to feel pampered. We want her to go and open the bin and go ‘wow.’”

Which is why she is giving them a separate gift basket with things like nail filers, a facial mask and some feminine products. Golindano says it’s little things like this that go a long way--like when her children used their creativity for Mother’s Day.

“They all made coupon books like: ‘Hey, I’ll do the dishes, I’ll throw the garbage out.’ When you don’t have any money that’s what you do but really love is a verb, it’s an action, and so when you love someone like you do stuff for them,” she said.

The Mommy Project is the first community event created by Love is a Verb Ministry--which Golindano founded in 2019.

"Single parenting is a huge issue not only here but nationwide and now you have grandmothers raising their children. I've gotten at least 3 grandmothers asking me 'Hey, can I get a bin? I'm a single mom' but it's really a single grandma and that's fine, we'll help you, too," she said.

Her initial goal was to fill 100 bins but she fell short by about fifty.

"We just didn't raise enough money. The ideal scenario would be gift cards to put in their Mother's Day cards that they're all gonna be receiving," Doris, who is a social worker, too said. "We do have a donate button on our website, I mean we could definitely use cash because after this project, they're still gonna need services and we're gonna provide those for them."

And despite the global crisis, she says there is a silver lining.

"This coronavirus did a lot of things but I think it really opened up people's hearts and we've been really loving on each other and it's a beautiful thing to see."

The Mommy Project distribution event takes place on Saturday, May 9th at the Hilton Rialto Hotel.

To make a donation or volunteer contact Love is a Verb Ministry via email dgolindano@gmail.com or through their website here.