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Community Corner

Program Aims to Help Single Moms Build Futures

Cornerstone Young Women's Learning Center is set to open a home for young mothers in June in Plano, but will serve women throughout the area.

The long, narrow driveway cuts a path to a 75-year-old traditional house in Plano. Regina Niemiec and a small army of volunteers pray that the path leads to a new way of life for some low-income single moms or moms-to-be in Kendall County.

Niemiec and her husband, Richard, of Oswego, purchased the house. As executive director of the Cornerstone Young Women’s Learning Center, which rents the home at no cost, she has assembled about 70 volunteers to create a home for up to eight women between the ages of 18 and 24 with children who are 0-3 years old.

The young women will attend Waubonsee Community College in Plano to earn at least an Associate’s degrees, while receiving support, tutoring and mentoring at Cornerstone.

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It is a God-driven, faith-based program, Niemiec said. It’s not a free ride. The young mothers will be expected to contribute by volunteering in the community, doing chores and taking care of their children.

“This is a hand up, not a hand out,” she said. “We want them to learn that they can do it, and they can be good moms while doing it.”

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Niemiec, who has four children ages 13 to 21, was moved to action after volunteering in a program for single mothers.

“I saw the cycle (of poverty and pregnancy) repeated over and over,” she said. “There was no education, no solution. I felt I needed to provide that solution. It’s very difficult to focus on your future when you’re wondering where your next meal is coming from.”

The program can serve a great purpose in the community, said Mariann Benda, who works for the Oswego Community Unit School District 308 trying to reach new parents.

"The education component at Cornerstone, I believe, is the key to the success that the girls will have as parents," Benda said. "They will be able to develop the confidence that they will need to be good models for their children."

Regina Niemiec is quick to share credit, as she shared her vision, with the program’s volunteers. They, in turn, share her enthusiasm, said Cathy Kavanaugh, assistant director of Cornerstone.

Sandra Jarzab of Plano was looking for a way to serve her community, when she saw an announcement in her church bulletin.

“I was very excited at the idea of guiding, helping, and mentoring young mothers," she said.

Jarzab created and maintains Cornerstone’s website at www.cornerstonewomen.org.

As they prepare to open in June, committees focus on everything from food to fun. Donations are welcome, more volunteers are needed and the search for a full-time house mother is in full-swing. This live-in position is a four-days-on-three-days-off job, Kavanaugh said. But it’s much more than that.

“She needs to be a key person in the women’s lives,” Niemiec added.

An informational meeting for interested young women is set for April 15. After an interview process, those selected will go through assessments to prepare for fall semester. Women chosen to live at Cornerstone will be expected to follow 54 house rules, including no drugs, no alcohol and weekly church attendance.

Leaders hope the young women will get much in return.

“We are not perfect, and we are not promising anything,” Kavanaugh said. “But it sure has the potential to lead to a better life.”

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