‘Single parenting is amazing’: Nonprofit helps families through education, financial resources and support

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - One out of four homes in America are single-parent households and child care can be one of the largest expenses that parents face.

The Forward Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to assisting working, single parents and their children in the greater Richmond area who are in the midst of a financial crisis. They do an array for single parents in our area.

”She’s my rock. I mean, I know every parent says that, but she really is,” said Gabrielle Burnett of her daughter Christina.

”She is an artist. She loves to paint, she loves anything dealing with education,” said Burnett.

The Burnetts are from Virginia Beach.

”I had lost custody of her due to my addiction and got sent up here for rehab,” said Burnett.

While Gabrielle was recovering, she gained custody of Christina and started rebuilding a life here in Richmond. She got a house and a job.

”Single parenting is amazing,” said Burnett.

However, moving to a new place and doing it all by herself created a problem. She still needed assistance.

”I was having trouble finding daycares that I can afford for my daughter. So I went to my supervisor and asked for some help, and she had actually told me about the Forward Foundation,” said Burnett.

Forward Foundation is a nonprofit with the mission of helping single parents.

”They help with the day-to-day. I’m able to pay for bills that I need to and I’m able to go grocery shopping without having to second guess what’s in my bank account,” said Burnett.

The Forward Foundation provides so much for single parents in our area.

”And so what we do is we provide a childcare subsidy so those parents can get back to work and get more stable in their financial situation. Also, we provide financial resources, workshops, community outings just to be kind of a holistic type of support for the family while they are getting back on their feet, and it typically lasts about 12 to 18 months,” said Soliel Lindsey.

Lindsey is the operations coordinator for the Forward Foundation and she used to be a mom in the program.

”I didn’t realize as a new parent how much it costs, you know just to take care of a child and let alone child care expenses, and so once I looked into the foundation, I realized I was a great candidate,“ said Lindsey.

In 2020 nearly 19 million children, amounting to 25 percent of all children in the U.S., were living in single-parent families.

Soliel wants any struggling single parent to know that you deserve the help.

“I want single parents to know that you are worthy regardless of what brought you to the situation that made you a single parent, none of that matters. There’s a child that needs to be supported that deserves to thrive,” said Lindsey.

”Just like there’s an app for everything, there’s a resource for it too,” said Burnett.

There are requirements in order to be in their program you can find that full list on the Forward Foundation website.

If you would like to support the nonprofit, their main fundraiser is coming up on Feb. 24 at the Cultural Center of India.

You can buy tickets or sign up to volunteer over on their website.