Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Fall.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The idea for Molly’s Bridge was birthed in 2016 when I was introduced to Jennifer Graham. Jennifer is an incredible nonprofit leader here in our community working with single moms and their families. She started her organization, Shelter From The Rain out of her experience as a single mother and the challenges she faced. This caused me to think back on my life growing up as the only child of a single mom myself. While I did not have my mom’s experience, I did have the unique perspective as her son observing the struggles she faced throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Single parents will always face challenges and stigmas, but I’m old enough to remember Food Stamps, government food distribution programs and welfare, all of which mom had to use just to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. I remember the hidden messaging behind such programs. Even though I’m grateful these programs helped my mom, they also conveyed a sense of inadequacy and separation between the “haves” and the “have nots”. We were definitely the “have nots”. I also, even at a young age, saw a gap created by the structure of these assistance programs. If you went to work and made a extra few dollars, an disproportionately large amount of your assistance would be cut, creating an ever widening gap along with a sense of helplessness to even try to better your situation. My mom fell into that gap and never really recovered.
When I was able to break out of the cycle of poverty by joining the military to learn a trade and earn a steady income while serving my country, I felt the need to run as fast and as far away figuratively from a childhood that I was ashamed of. I was quite successful at distancing myself from my childhood until 2016 when I met Jennifer. Her story suddenly brought me face to face with every memory I was trying to run away from. All the shame, all the bitterness and all the disappointment came back, but in a miraculous way. I sensed God telling me that the childhood I had lived was not for nothing and that He had a mission for me to embark on that would change my life along with others. I was to use my experience and the experience of my mom to serve single mother led families in my community. My wife Susan and I met with Jennifer to discuss how we could partner with her organization and offer help without duplicating the work she was already doing. The need for housing was the no. 1 topic we discussed. This is the biggest hurdle and expense for single parent households, so we started Molly’s Bridge in an effort to provide, safe, affordable housing to the families we partner with for a transitional period of 24 to 36 months. Along with housing, we support the families with advocacy, financial training, educational resources and family counseling so they will have an opportunity to pursue their dreams of higher education, job skills training or whatever other services will bring them closer to living a financially independent life while also engaging them with community by surrounding them with caring volunteers developing mutually beneficial relationships.
Eight years, into this endeavor Mollys Bridge, named for my mom, owns a property with one home and plenty of room to expand. Our vision is to build four to six additional homes along with a community garden and green space which will form a collaborative community for our partner families.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting a nonprofit organization has been the most difficult, yet the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. Bringing together a cohesive board of directors has not been as easy as it may sound! We’ve faced some struggles along the way, but God has provided abundantly. Of course, as with any nonprofit, funding your vision is the biggest lift. Simply telling your story in an effective way to an audience of people who have a heart for your mission can be a challenge. How do you connect with the right audience? How do inspire people to join you financially?
Maintaining a singularity of vision and avoiding “mission creep” is also difficult. You have to constantly remind your self, your volunteers and your board what the focus and mission of the organization is, otherwise you can quickly find yourself off in the weeds and off mission.
We’ve been impressed with Molly’s Bridge Inc., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Molly’s Bridge is our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which was started in 2017. Our mission is to equip single mothers with the tools they need to thrive in our community, empower them by creating a framework of support anchored by our transitional housing program and to encourage them by surrounding them with a team of volunteers who care deeply and want to invest in their lives and the lives of their children.
Unlike many other nonprofits, Molly’s Bridge does not cast a wide net trying to impact large sectors of the population or entire demographics. We find our resources better used to concentrate on impacting each hand selected family we partner with. These are single mother led families who are simply struggling to survive in our modern economy. Barriers to success are housing cost, childcare and healthy food. The families we partner with must be self-motivated and eager to use the resources provided in the Molly’s Bridge program to attain needed education or accreditation, to learn about financial stewardship and to dig deep to resolve family hurt or past trauma so they are unhindered as they move forward.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success, for me personally is simply living out the mission God has created me for. There could be no higher achievement but to lean fully into the reason you were created and to use the resources around you to affect change in the world, whether it be at the community level, national level or with a worldwide impact.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mollysbridge.com
- Instagram: @mollys_bridge
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savannahsinglemoms
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mollysbridge
