An assortment of colorful backpacks lined up the side of one of the rooms of CrossPoint church on Thursday, as children of all ages were patiently seated before receiving backpacks and other back-to-school supplies.
A few moments later, it would be announced that Spectrum had donated a $10,000 grant to Single Mothers Outreach.
Through the Spectrum Employee Community Grants, Jeffrey Lee, Spectrum senior account executive, nominated Single Mothers Outreach. This is Spectrum’s second donation to the organization, the first being $5,000, for a cumulative total of $15,000 to date.
Single Mothers Outreach is an initiative designed to help single mothers. According to the organization’s website, it serves and supports through four main areas: mental health, education, workforce development and housing stability.
Immediate Past Chair Martin Rodriguez commented on the pillars that sustain Single Mothers Outreach:
“We have four key pillars: connect, assist, grow and inspire. All of our programs and services align with one of those four pillars,” Rodriguez said. “Today’s event is surrounding the ‘grow’ pillar. We’re helping these kids grow, get ready for school, grow their minds, their health, their body. We always have all of our programs and services for our parents, or even in this case, the kids.”
Rodriguez is aware of the impact that Single Mothers Outreach has not only had on the community before, but will continue to have in the years to come.
“We’ve been in this community for [almost] 25 years. As long as we’ve been doing this, we’ve continued to grow and partner with organizations in our community. We’ve had over 400 families in our programs. We want to keep adapting and providing services,” Rodriguez said.
Pamela Hoeft, senior manager of communications at Spectrum, said there are nearly 101,000 Spectrum employees, and anyone in the company is eligible to nominate an organization for the ongoing grant program.
“The Spectrum Employee Community Grants Program has provided funding to more than 400 local nonprofits in 32 states throughout our company service area since we launched in July 2019,” Hoeft said. “Recipients deliver critical social services, helping underserved residents meet basic needs, including food, shelter, clothing, job training and neighborhood safety.”
In a news release from Spectrum, Santa Clarita Mayor Jason Gibbs congratulated Single Mothers Outreach on receiving the Spectrum Employee Community Grant:
“[Single Mothers Outreach’s] commitment to providing emergency stabilization, personalized case management and fostering a supportive community for single parents is truly commendable and makes a lasting impact on the lives of many in the Santa Clarita community,” Gibbs said in the release.
Former “Teen Wolf” actor Cody Saintgnue concluded the ceremony with his own experiences of being raised by a single mom, before assisting the children in choosing supplies to their liking.
