Nice Guys Awards - Organization Winner
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The Nice Guys awards are sponsored by Acacia Federal Savings Bank, serving the DC area since 1985. As a local small business, we’re committed to the success of individuals and other companies – from one-person companies to multimillion dollar firms.

 

Hard Work. High Standards. Helping Others.
 
Organization Winners

Who they are: The Naomi Project

What they do: Mentor at-risk pregnant women and new mothers during pregnancy and the early parenting years

Why they do it: One-on-one relationships help mothers have successful births and develop positive parenting skills

"Start small, be realistic, pray."
- Peggy Ferguson, Founder



Going shopping. Chatting over coffee. Giving advice. Sharing stories. That's how The Naomi Project helps new mothers build good parenting skills... one friendship at a time.

The program started in 1995 when Peggy Ferguson, a member of then-senator Lawton Chiles' National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality, saw among the commission's findings that home visits were successful for promoting good parenting skills - if they were made by caring mentors.

So when she was asked to set up a pilot mentoring program, she approached the Virginia Council of Churches to ask if they'd sponsor one. She envisioned the program as being open to women of all faiths, for both clients and mentors.

The Council was enthusiastic, but government and nonprofit groups she approached for seed money were not. "It took some doing to convince people that a volunteer would be at least as faithful as a paid mentor," she said. "But when we started to build our track record, that was quickly overcome!"

In 1995, 36 mentors, nine area coordinators and 11 support staff donated over 2300 hours to help women learn good prenatal habits and parenting skills. The all-volunteer organization remains strictly grassroots, operating on an annual budget of less than $5,000.

 

Birth Advice and Baby Clothes

Mentors become involved in the everyday details of their clients' lives, as a relative or friend would. They help mothers obtain baby clothes and supplies, sign up for social services, and overcome fears of birth and parenting - from giving reassurance to becoming the mother's birth coach. The mentoring relationship continues until the child reaches the age of three - "through the turbulent years."

"We like our mentors to have a little life experience under their belt, so they need to be at least 26 years old. Our oldest mentor is in the mid 70's!" says Ferguson. "We train twice a year, require mentors to report on a monthly basis, and have a checklist with four pages of learnings. After that, we give mentors the freedom to customize the program for each client."

She tells how dedicated volunteers make the program possible. "When the group was smaller, Sarah Bock and Corinne D'Silva - my co-directors - and I could wear many hats, but now the support of Pilar Jones, Laura Greenspan, Christy O' Farrell and others on the Steering Committee are critical. And all the mentors in the program who give so generously of their time - they're the ones who make the program a success. They're the ones helping give mothers confidence, and children a better start in life."

For details about The Naomi Project and its fall training sessions, visit naomiproject.org.

Check out the nominees from this year's Nice Guys Awards Organization Category.

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