Let There Be Mom marks 15th year of preserving legacies

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - When Kipra Anderson reflects on how Let There Be Mom has touched hundreds of families over the past 15 years, she admits she wasn’t always certain about where the journey would take her.

“From day one, I was in a wagon that God is pulling,” Anderson told FOX Carolina.

Anderson founded the nonprofit to help preserve the legacies of mothers and fathers diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. The organization works with artisans to create presents - often made from clothing or other personal items - to give their children during special occasions yet to come.

“(The parents) want to show up,” Anderson said. “They want their kids to always know how special they were to them.”

She said the idea first came to her in October 2006 while she was dusting a photograph of her children.

“I wondered what would they remember if something happened to me,” Anderson said.

When she could not find a business that focused on helping children remember a parent who may have passed away, Anderson moved on.

The next month, Anderson said she was sitting in church when her pastor asked the congregation, “Is God asking you to do something?” At the time, she was pretty certain He wasn’t. However, at a church service a couple of weeks later, Anderson said a different pastor seemed to be looking straight at her when he asked the same question. She prayed for a sign.

The following day, Anderson was volunteering at her children’s school for a holiday event. While there, she met another mother who broke down in tears after revealing she was gravely ill and believed this would be her final Christmas with her children.

Anderson said she felt like she knew what she needed to do but still had reservations.

“I (didn’t) think God (knew) how hard it is to start a nonprofit,” Anderson said.

After reading her Bible and speaking to her husband, Anderson decided to create Let There Be Mom after the holiday season.

She began the new year of 2007 by getting the paperwork started and recruiting a board.

“Everybody brought something major to the table that I didn’t know anything about,” she said.

One month after turning in the required paperwork, Anderson received the green light to move forward with the nonprofit. She said shortly after that, news about Let There Be Mom spread quickly and corporation donations started to pour in.

Anderson said the goal was to start serving parents in November 2007, but then she met 27-year-old Amanda Moon in August. The married mother of a 3-year-old girl was in the final stages of cervical cancer.

“I’m sure God was moving in at that point,” Anderson said. “We literally had three and a half weeks.”

By the time Moon passed way at the end of the month, her daughter, Madison, had a collection of personalized gifts.

Since then, Anderson said the nonprofit has served about 700 family members and worked on more than 5,000 projects.

Let There Be Mom helps parents within a one-hour drive from the nonprofit’s headquarters. If you are interested in applying for services, click here.

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