Formed in 2011, MAW Charities is a nonprofit established to provide a range of assistance to previously married abandoned or widowed women and their children under the age of 18 who live at or below the poverty line. Our organization focuses on education, socialization, employment and self-esteem building. Collaborating with community agencies, MAW aspires to help single mothers gain the education and social skills necessary to enhance the quality of their daily lives and empower them by improving their economic opportunities. We also assist basic necessities, through referrals for food, clothes, housing and medical expenses in addition to education needs.
Abandoned or widowed women left to become the primary wage earner unexpectedly and are now living under impoverished conditions, have a different pattern than a two-parent household, or those who elect to depend on public services for a lifetime. These courageous women are undertaking multipurpose trips such as taking children to school, shopping, doctor appointments, holding down one or two jobs, while trying to find safe and affordable childcare with limited income. Many are forced to use public transportation at off-peak hours when few options are available.
Our Poverty to Powerful Program aims to keep family's safe and help them to become more prosperous by providing customized transportation options, emergency & short-term childcare, a hand-up to achieve their educational goals, and to help their children intellectually engage with others after a tragic event when losing a husband and father. Our hope is that the entire family will move from a poverty mindset, feeling embarrassed by their current circumstances and lacking self-esteem, to a powerful state of mind.
An example of our impact over our nearly 15-year history through 2025 includes; provided more than 15,000 hours of temporary and emergency childcare, allowing our clients to focus on jobs, education, employment and building their self-confidence after being unexpectedly abandoned or widowed; donated 50 automobiles, paid for 25 repossessed saving car payments, purchased AAA towing cards for all, replaced 15 transmissions & motors, provided 250 job saving Uber or Lyft Rides; filled over 400 gas tanks, books for school and assisted with high school diplomas, and some to start college. All in all, we have assisted 2,646 women and children.
Our Needs
Our greatest challenge is to provide reliable transportation for the abandoned or widowed mothers we serve taking into consideration the rising cost for services and an expected rise the applicant pool. Without reliable transportation, these mothers will be challenged to stay employed and provide for their families or to continue their education. While we fix up unreliable automobiles, our goal is to provide good used cars or new ones to ensure that their families are safe and income is sustained.
We aspire to have our own facility to keep cars on hand, provide fluid changes (oil, transmission, etc) for these new single moms. In addition, to provide tutoring, mentoring, SAT prep, help to finance some education expenses such as registration fees.