Empower, Educate, Engage, Employ, Equip, Enhance, Embrace, Encourage

On the Red Carpet of the 2012 Stone Awards

Dear Friends:

Successful Single Moms Memphis, Inc. and the single

mothers we serve are eliminating the excuses in our lives

and providing solutions. As women of Possibilities, Purpose

and Power we understand and stand firm that Success is

our Birthright!

For the past three years we have worked hard to build a strong foundation and community /corporate

collaborations to Embrace, Empower and Enhance the lives of our single moms and their families. Our

reputation as a leader in the Memphis community is rapidly growing as the premier source for single

moms.

Why is our work so important? As recent census data shows, Memphis has an disproportionate number

of single family households, of which many are single mothers with hopes and dreams for a brighter

future for their families. Being a solution driven entity we embrace the opportunity to assist, by

providing single moms in Memphis resources and opportunities that can help them move from poverty

to prosperity & self-sufficiency.

A heartfelt thank you to the partners, sponsors and community collaborators who are helping single

moms in Memphis succeed. Your contributions are enormous, a priceless gem to our network of

women, children and communities we serve.

With gratitude,

Executive Director

Successful Single Moms Memphis

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Successful Single Moms

Memphis attended the

2012 Child Advocacy

Days on the Hill-

Nashville, TN Savanna

Gates-Hulbert, daughter

of Nicole Gates was a

honored guest of the

Black Caucus on that

day!

Successful Single Moms

Memphis member

Yolanda Gates a.k.a.

Quiet Storm performs

“You Don’t Know My

Pain” at the 2012 S.I.S.

Awards Brunch

Walking into a New Life & Successful

Single Moms Memphis partner for the

second year of the S.I.S.

Awards...Surviving in Silence. Both

Survivors of Domestic Violence &

Single Motherhood were

honored!

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This year Successful Single Moms Memphis and their many partners struck out to embrace Single Moms

of Memphis/Shelby County through many endeavors, the most visible and successful was The Confer-

ence for Single Parents with 187 attendees for this first annual event.

Special to the Tri-State Defender: Kimberly McGrew

Single parents in need of road map to a better life for themselves and their families had

access to a conference designed to help them.

"The Conference for Single Parents" was held Saturday July 21, 2012 at the Pursuit of

God Transformation Center, 3171 Signal Street. Nicole Gates, Executive Director of Suc-

cessful Single Moms Memphis and author of "Success Over Statistics. I Choose!" is the

pioneer behind the conference, which is geared toward men and women, both custodial

and non-custodial parents.

"With Memphis having so many single parent households, it was essential to have these

workshops, we must reach out to these single parents" stated Ms. Gates. According to

www.city-data.com, Memphis is number 35 on the list of top 101 cities with the highest

percentage of single-parent households. With a population of 650,100, 53 percent of

Memphis households are headed by single parents. There are 78,541 single-parent house-

holds – 9, 607 headed by men and 68,934 by women. Nearly 1 in 5 teenagers is pregnant

in Memphis, which is double the national average.

The conference featured 16 workshops covering topics which included Money Manage-

ment, Personal Development, Family Literacy, Matters of the Heart, Parenting by Person-

ality, Entrepreneurship. Some of the guest facilitators of workshops were Summer

Owens, the author of "Life After Birth," who shared her life experience as a teenage sin-

gle parent. Ms. Owens offered tips and tools that can lead to a successful life in spite of

the setback of being a teen mom. Peggie Russell taught the importance of personal devel-

opment and finding balance between work, school, kids and overcoming obstacles. "I

taught a workshop on 'I Choose' which explained the power of choice and how becoming

entrepreneurs can be a way out. The budgeting workshop focused on teaching the parents

on how to deal with their finances by examining their bills (parents were

requested to bring them to be able to participate), creating a spending

plan and creating a budget based on the bills and their income. The con-

ference also taught the parents (especially men) how to exercise their

rights with the child support system and how to nurture their children.

My goal and expectations when creating this conference was that the

participants would leave equipped with knowledge, motivated to move

out of their current state driven to make a difference in, not just their

lives, but the lives of their children. I am confident that life can be suc-

cessful for you and your children, if you eliminate excuses and replace

with them with solutions.

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SSMM was the co-host of the Waiting on Su-

perman for

Single Parents movie premier. Event was spon-

sored by SSMM, UHC & Boys, Inc..

There's no question that our current educa-

tional system is failing our students. The

statistics are staggering: among 30 devel-

oped countries, the U.S. is ranked 25th in

math and 21st in science. It's estimated

that by the year 2020, there will be 123 mil-

lion high-paying, high-skill jobs in the

United States, but only 50 million Ameri-

cans will be qualified to fill these positions.

SSMM Executive Director is featured on

The Hope Project waging a war against

Human Trafficking .

The Hope Project: An Effort to End Hu-

man Trafficking This music CD is a compi-

lation of national recording artists that

have joined together to do their part to

eradicate human trafficking through mu-

sic and encouragement. There are survi-

vor stories, encouragement, legislative

reviews, and so much more.

Successful Single Moms Memphis partners with Ashes 2 Beauty to fight against Domestic Violence

& Human Trafficking through their annual “Ashes 2 Beauty Pamper Party” for survivors

We are survivors here to give hope to those that are still victims or trying to heal from any type of abuse....We understand the effects that abuse can have on you and are here to guide you back to

wholeness.

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The Epiphany Firm is single-mom owned

and operated public relations, marketing and event

planning firm, designed to create living wage jobs

that will foster a cutting edge entrepreneurial skill set. The en-

terprise creates employment opportunities for single moms al-

lowing them to move to a place of economic self-sufficiency pro-

moting social support and hands-on educational opportunities.

Epiphany Firm Co-OP affords single moms undergo additional

training in personal and professional development business ba-

sics, financial literacy, marketing, customer service, and public

relations.

The CHOICE of entrusting your business needs to the Epiphany

Firm will afford single moms the CHANCE to experience eco-

nomic empowerment and immeasurable CHANGE for their fami-

lies!

Our 2012 Clients included:

All Occasion Florist ” Think Pink” Cam-

paign

Girls of Leadership

KoKo & Friends Foundation

Math Made Simple

H2D S.C.R.A.M. Campaign

Networking In Memphis

Seeds 2 Life “Pink PJ Party” Media Cam-

paign

F.O.R. Expressions

Team Finish Strong– Kidpreneur Acad-

emy

Inspiration 4 the Generation

Shopping 4 You

Wise Up!

Quiet Storm

T-Scales Productions

Cupcake Starz

Delicious Wishes II

EQ

UIP

About

We will work with aspiring entrepreneurs from idea generation through product

launch to develop cutting edge business solutions that evoke innovative solutions

to both reoccurring and emerging problems.

Mission

Our mission at the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation is to assist our cli-

ents become innovation catalysts who have the ability to proactively recognize op-

portunities through societal trends and key technologies.

SSMM Partnership: Many of our aspiring single moms have

found a new stream of income due to the opportunities of Uni-

versity of Memphis’ Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation to

launch successful businesses. Some our ladies who have taken

advantage of these FREE services include:

Doris Lee, All Occasion Florist All Occasion Florist offers

its clients beautiful fresh floral arrangements year round.

Delivery Service & the Forget Me Not Floral Club...never for-

get another celebration!

Nicole Gates, Epiphany Firm, LLC The Epiphany Firm is a

Public Relations & Marketing Firm for Small Business Own-

ers, Grassroots Organizations & Small Non-Profits to gain

the media coverage they would not normally acquire. The

Epiphany Firm is owned and operated by Successful Single

Moms of Memphis. The Epiphany Firm trains, hires and em-ploys only single mothers.

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Women’s Wellness Retreat

Sponsored by United HealthCare

The Place of Rest Women’s Wellness Retreat was designed to provide Successful Single Moms

Members a local experience in the magnificent City of Memphis. A celebration of movement be-

gan with Yoga Vibes in Midtown Memphis hosted by SSMM member Jackie Oselen (Jackie O).

We then transitioned to Vance No. 2 – The Room with an Awesome View for an intimate catered

meal and fellowship and finished the evening at Embassy Suites, Shady Grove for a night filled

with relaxing & refreshing overnight stay. SSMM members were invited to learn, meditate, and

reap the benefits from the weekend by being open and excited about a life-changing, life-affirming

experience that would nurture their spirit, mind and body. Some of the activities included: Navi-

gating through Life Changes! A Vision Casting session where each attendee created a vision

board. Journey to the Inner Self! Journaling & Group session and the Jackie O! Yoga experience.

In addition to fellowship, food & fun!

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Successful Single Moms Memphis is committed to embracing the community in ef-

forts that help single moms and their families as a whole. Giving back is an essential

part of our community outreach and mission. Below are pictures from the Memphis

in May Triathlon & Operation Cool down!

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Survive & Thrive Single Moms Conference

Oklahoma City, OK

The Survive ‘N’ Thrive Conference is a national single mothers’ conference, which originated in the state of

Oklahoma eight years ago by co-founders Pam Kanaly and Shelley Pulliam. Its purpose is to bring hope to sin-

gle mothers in their roles of raising children alone. The trademarked name “Survive ‘N’ Thrive” has received

national recognition, having appeared on Christian television pro-grams such as The 700 Club. It's traveled to

Texas, Arizona, and Tennessee. Successful Single Moms Memphis attended this year’s conference to network

and to connect with single moms across the world.

Aw

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Top Left: Best in Black Awards– Best Women’s Organiza-

tion Top Right: Networking in Memphis– Community Ac-

tivist Middle: Heal the Hood Game Changer Award Bot-

tom: 2012 Stone Awards-Outstanding Community Activist

2012 Partnerships

SSMM Programs

Leadership Training for Single Moms Only.

Focuses on Emotional & Financial Strength

and Strength of Character & Purpose!

Annual Giving Program to support the

resources, opportunities and programs of

Successful Single Moms in Memphis. Sup-

porters of Successful Single Moms Mem-

phis are able to donate to the organization

and help them seed success for our single

moms!

Family Literacy Program supporting

literacy for the entire family and quar-

terly events to promote a love for

reading!

Forget Me Not Mentoring Program

offers Single Moms an opportunity to

receive a mentor to help them steer

through life and career transitions.

Financial fitness for Single Moms focuses

on creating an opportunity fund, individ-

ual and family savings, budgeting, insur-

ance needs, credit counseling and more.

Health & Wellness Initiative that fo-

cuses on maintaining a healthy Mind,

Body and Spirit for the entire family.

G.E.M.S. Single Mom Support Group offers

Single Moms an opportunity to build mean-

ingful relationships with other women of

possibilities, purpose and power!

The Remember Mom Project Year after year,

single moms spend most of their money on

their children during special holidays, but with

school-aged children, single moms often go

ungifted. The project seeks out gifts for single

moms during Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day,

Christmas and their Birthdays. We honor and

remember single moms for their love and sup-

port provided to their children!

Angels in Action is a service group that was created to train and em-

power of the children of SSMM Members on how to make a dif-

ference in Memphis by giving and volunteering through various community service projects.