NORFOLK, Va. - Sunday, hundreds of mothers and their children will gather to celebrate Mother's Day together.
Joy Ministries has made it their mission to give women who may not be able to celebrate the holiday on their own a place to feel special on their day.
Single moms, widows and women whose husbands are on deployment are all invited to the event at the Marriot in Downtown Norfolk.
"The most important thing that moms get on that day is hope and encouragement," said Danette Crawford, the president of Joy Ministries and the mastermind behind the event.
"Sometimes when we’re going through situations that are so overwhelming, we feel like we’re the only one and they meet women from the community that are going through similar situations," she said.
The moms are able to relax and celebrate all the hard work they do.
"They're doing double duty all year long," said Crawford, "and we come along with a word of encouragement and say you're doing a great job - keep on!"
Each mom gets a gift and a nice sit down dinner with her kids.
Crawford is the heart behind the celebration and says this is one of her favorite days of the year.
"That day when I look out over the crowd of those women and children and I see the smile on their face of how they have received that hope and they’ve received that encouragement, its worth all the hard work."
If you would like to attend the celebration, you can register your family here until 5 p.m. Wednesday night.
If you are able to celebrate Mother's Day with your own family, but would like to sponsor one of the families attending the celebration, you can do so here.
