Our Purpose

The goals of A Mother’s Rest are to:

1. Redefine "respite" as it applies to  parents raising children with special needs.  

2.  Change the way parental respite is viewed and valued in the disability community as a whole.

3. Promote the  long term significance of  "caring for the caregivers"...self-care is  just as important as self-sacrifice.

4. Champion a societal paradigm shift making respite a proactive (not reactive) part of parental healthcare.

5. Enable special needs parents to allow themselves recuperative rest and fellowship outside of the home.

6. Strengthen the overall health of the family unit to ensure the best care to these children with special needs. 

7. Make fellowship affordable, everywhere, and often to parents from all economic backgrounds.

8. Empower & equip local communities to care for their extra needs families proactively.

9. Become a premier national respite resource for families of disabled children & adults. 

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The plans of  A Mother's Rest are to:

1. Create a guilt-free, judgment-free, confidential  community where special needs caregivers can safely share the challenges they are facing in daily life.

2. Provide material, therapeutic, in-person recuperative rest, fellowship & support exclusively to mothers and other caregivers of disabled children and adults.     

3. Purchase and run our own Retreat Inn Guest House in Afton, VA. (home base)  The provision of a physical place of sanctuary that is open year-round is the cornerstone of our efforts.  

4. Build a nationwide network of existing bed and breakfast inns to host year-round, personalized, small-group retreat events, for A Mother's Rest families.

5. Organize (and fund) other weekend and off-site retreat activities throughout the year.  

6. Minimize the financial barrier to parents with the help of private, church, foundation and corporate sponsorship.

7. Partner with existing local organizations to assist with child care while parents are  away on their retreats.

8. Provide significant grant funding for children to attend SUMMER CAMPS.  

9. Encourage more churches to implement Special Needs Ministries. (VBS, etc)

10. Support special needs families in the local rural communities around Afton, VA with financial and material assistance. (Raising Appalachia program).

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