Moms Get ‘Red Carpet’ Treatment

By the time most moms get their
children ready for school, go to work, then come home and cook and
clean, they’re too drained to pay attention to their own needs. But
single mom Danette Crawford wants to help mothers feel appreciated—and
pampered.

During her annual Mother’s Day
Celebration, Crawford and her team bus in some 2,000 women from
Hampton, Va., and surrounding cities, and shower them with love.
Military wives whose husbands are deployed, widows, single moms, women
from homeless shelters and assisted-living facilities all attend the
event.

“When they first arrive, we give them
the red carpet treatment,” says Crawford, who will sponsor her 10th
celebration on May 9. “We give them a red rose or carnation, and a
five-star meal. They have dinner with their children, and we just
pamper them.”

The author of Don’t Quit in the Pit: Power to Turn Any Situation Around, Crawford provides activities for the children and shares the message of Jesus and teachings from her book with the women.

“When there’s no dad in the picture,
these women go without honoring,” she says. “Our message is, ‘Don’t
give up. You are loved.’”