Pictured from left to right are Jan Lupia, Event Co-chair, Founder & Executive Director of Mama’s House, Art Lupia, Founding Partner and Board Vice Chairman of Mama’s House, and Patricia McDonnell, Event Co-chair, Honorary Co-founder & Board Director of Mama’s House.
After more than a year of cancelled in-person events, 150 guests, all wearing face masks and social distancing, showed up to lend their unwavering support to Mama’s House at their recent 8th Annual Heartbeat of Love luncheon. Due to COVID-19 restrictions the attendance was much lower this year, as compared to last year’s luncheon with 1,200 guests, weeks before the shutdown. For those unable to attend the luncheon, the event was live streamed, courtesy of KESQ TV and Church At The Red Door.
The luncheon, held at the Indian Wells Renaissance, raised more than $400,000. Featured speakers included Larry Elder, attorney, author, radio & TV talk show host, and Herschel Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and football great. Major donors attended a VIP Reception the night before, enjoying a lively Q&A with Elder and Walker.
Established in 2013, Mama’s House, is the only residential home within the Coachella Valley providing shelter for women in crisis pregnancies. To date, Mama’s House has welcomed close to 300 residents and babies, offering an array of comprehensive counseling, educational, and other support services, at no cost, to its residents. Due to the generosity of its supporters at the organization’s luncheon last year, Mama’s House was able to purchase a second residential property on an acre of land, debt free, for its expansion plan which is underway.
“We are seeing lives transformed and families impacted for generations, which directly affects the surrounding communities,” stated Jan Lupia, Founder & Executive Director of Mama’s House. “We educate our residents to gain healthy coping mechanisms and life skills that directly affect their children’s lives and can completely redirect the trajectory of their own lives.”
Dr. Vincent Nola, a retired and well-respected OB-GYN, was honored for his nine years of support to Mama’s House. Dr. Nola believed in Jan Lupia’s dream and provided unwavering support when the first Mama’s House residence was purchased.
“The mission at Mama’s House has been God ordained from the very first day,” stated Patricia McDonnell, Event Co-chair, Honorary Co-founder, and Board Director. “We have watched this ministry grow more than we could have ever imagined. Mama’s House has been blessed richly,” McDonnell continued.
Herschel Walker shared poignant moments from his childhood and how hard work had paid off for him. “As a kid growing up, I did not like myself or the way I looked,” stated Walker. “As a little boy I stuttered and was bullied, which helped me to realize that when you get knocked down you get right back up. This kid in the 8th grade beat me up, and today I thank him because he woke me up! I attended the University of Georgia, where I would win in 1982 the Heisman Trophy. “Hard work does nothing but make you better, because I have worked hard my whole life and have been blessed.”
For more information on Mama’s House visit www.themamashouse.org.
PHOTO CREDIT: Marc Glassman Photography
