About Our Organization

Story About Us
Where it all began

Mamas for Mamas

I thought becoming a mama would give me instant access to this village of mama bears looking after each other. I was sorely disappointed. The closest I got to this village was the support from two other mamas in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit when my first baby arrived almost seven weeks early. Once I left the NICU and entered the general mama world, I truly felt that I would never belong….

Tackle Poverty

Make a Big Impact

Bring the Community Together

About

Mamas for Mamas is a national charitable organization that supports mothers and caregivers in crisis by providing ongoing support to individuals and families facing various poverty-related struggles. Our mission is to change the landscape of poverty through innovative approaches to financial barriers faced by struggling families. While our name is Mamas for Mamas, we welcome caregivers of any gender identity or expression, including men, trans*, non-binary, and two-spirit clients. We envision a future where no Mama or child is left behind. The most recent statistics from Citizens for Public Justice reports that a staggering 5.8 million people in Canada (or 16.8%) live in poverty ( https://cpj.ca/poverty-trends-2018/). We are committed to giving a hand up, not just a hand out to those struggling by providing them with essential needs. We are actively engaging with multiple levels of government and non-profit agencies; together we are working to change the systems that contribute to the vicious cycle of poverty, mental health issues, housing, and food insecurity and have recently expanded digitally across Canada.

We provide a space where our Mamas and their kids feel safe and comfortable when they come in for poverty relief support. We refer to all existing community programs when available and fill the gaps in service when the need is higher than the resources available. Unfortunately, this is often the case, as evidenced by the need for our rapid program development. We offer a beautiful Karma Market where struggling families can access anything they need at no cost; the only currency we request is, kindness to your fellow neighbour. In our free store, we provide clothing, shoes, seasonal wear, and through our intake process Mamas can also access formula, diapers, baby furniture, and gear. We also offer individualized help navigating the available resources for food security, affordable housing, education, and access to our in-house mental health team where counselling is available at no cost for those who qualify. Community-based sharing economies are available for families, with a resource coordinator available for preventative and intervention based poverty relief.

It’s hard enough being a parent without the stress of clothing or food insecurity, lack of appropriate mental health care, and everything else that can easily fall through the cracks in our busy society. Mamas for Mamas is there for those parents who need help navigating eligible resources, applying for social supports, and getting direct intake support while joining this Mamas community that genuinely looks after each other. ( https://cpj.ca/poverty-trends-2018/ )

Governance

Where the money goes

We are proud to be an economic and socially responsible organization, keeping the families we serve at the heart of our decisions and being accountable to all of our donors, small or large. We are also proud to operate at an admin rate below the industry standards.

Find out how Mamas for Mamas works hard to ensure that your donations are delivered directly to those that need it most.

Want to get involved?

Join our growing team and bring your community together!

DONATE

Baby gear, toys, food, time, dollars. We accept donations of all kinds.

Sponsor

Take part in our movement that has made a powerful impact on families as they come face to face with poverty-related struggles.

FUNDRAISE

Organize an event and raise funds in support of Mamas for Mamas.