Every mother's heart has likely skipped a beat when she has contemplated, at least once, what her kids would remember if she were taken away from them. That was the case for Kipra Anderson in 2006 when she dusted a picture of her three children, according to Greenville News.
Anderson recalled that her children were 8, 6, and 4 at the time, and she asked herself whether they would remember their beach trips and family traditions. It was more than a passing thought for Anderson, who looked for a business that might help a mother who wanted to preserve such important memories.
Much to her surprise, she found none. Anderson even researched starting a non-profit, but she decided it was too much work. Even if that was the case, she said that the Lord laid it on her heart completely.
Let There Be Mom helps mothers with life-threatening illnesses
Anderson put that idea out of her mind until a chance encounter with a dying mother from her kid's school during the holidays. She said the idea came flooding back to her after that meeting.
She flipped through her Bible while staying at home in Simpsonville. She stumbled upon a random passage that said, "I heard your prayers. I've seen your tears. This is the Lord's sign to you." Anderson quickly turned to a different page, and it was the exact same verse.
After reading that verse, she was still conflicted, so she called her husband, Gunnar, to ask his opinion about it. Unlike Kipra, he was not conflicted at all, with Gunnar telling his wife that she just needs to start it.
Anderson began collecting paperwork and working to found Let There Be Mom, an organization that would help moms with life-threatening illnesses create gifts and memories for the children they might leave behind.
Anderson applied to the state of South Carolina and then worked for six weeks on a proposal for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The federal agency generally takes three to 27 months to approve or deny a proposal but Let There Be Mom was approved in less than a month in April 2007.
The organization has now served more than 400 kids
When she chose the Board of Directors for her company, the husband of one board member worked for a company that donated funds to the organization, which was a surprise to both women.
Despite the mission of Let There Be Mom, Anderson herself had never been near anyone who was seriously sick. So when a hospice called them about a mom who had just three or four weeks to live, Anderson panicked and did not know what to do.
The dying mom was only 27 with a three-year-old kid. An acquaintance strengthened Anderson's resolve, telling her that the children need this and they need to know they are important. Let There Be Mom has now served more than 400 children since the organization started, and it now helps fathers, too.
