By Kharisma McIlwaine
Mother’s Day is a day where we honor and celebrate our mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers and other maternal figures for the invaluable work they do in our lives. Although Mother’s Day is a day usually filled with joy for many, it can also be a painful time for those who have lost their mothers.
Ming Leone, founder of the I Love You Foundation pictured with a picture of her mom.
Photos courtesy Ming Leone
Ming Leone, founder of the I Love You Foundation wanted to make this Mother’s Day a special one by creating a safe space of fellowship for women who have experienced the loss of their mothers, children and loved ones. And she did by hosting the I Love You Foundation’s first Mother’s Day Brunch. Leone spoke to the SUN about the inspiration for the event and the work she hopes to continue doing in the community with the I Love You Foundation.
Leone founded the I Love You Foundation to pay homage to her own mother who she lost at a young age.
“The I Love You Foundation is a 501C3. I started it because I lost my mother at nine years young. Growing up, without a mother as a girl, as a woman is so hard — navigating throughout life with no gps technically, with no woman there to tell you what to do and which direction to go in. Once I realized there are so many people that haven’t heard ‘I love you’, this made perfect sense. Growing up, I barely heard I love you and I know how important that is for anyone… regardless of your gender or race. It’s so important to hear that.” she emphasized. “I wanted to start the foundation to carry on my mother’s legacy because she wasn’t able to scratch the surface of what she wanted to do. Now I’m ready, I’m strong enough, and it’s time.”
The non-profit organization hosted its first Mother’s Day Brunch catered by Chef Rashaun at The Granary at 1901 Callowhill Street. The event provided all attendees with a decadent spread and beautiful gift bags as a way to honor women who have experienced loss due to gun violence.
“I’ve been talking about doing an event for over a year. Mother’s Day is hard for me, but everyday is hard for me. I did this Mother’s Day brunch for people that lost their kids to gun violence and for women that lost their mothers. It’s so important to be able to relate. You can say ‘I’m sorry for your loss’, but if you don’t know what I’m going through you don’t understand” Leone said. “It’s important to bring women together to strengthen them — add strength, add courage and bring the community together. If we’re strong, then we can pour love into the community. That’s what we are lacking. That’s why there’s so much crime and so much hate — there’s no love. No one is telling people I love you — and you need to hear it! I wish I could spend Mother’s Day with my mom and because I can’t, I wanted to bring other women together. I wanted to fill my heart with joy and fill their hearts with joy as well.”
The Mother’s Day brunch. sponsored by global beauty brand Ebin New York, promoted healing through the intimate opportunity for fellowship among attendees with similar experiences. The face of Ebin New York, Allure Burns, volunteers in the community speaking to those who have lost friends and loved ones to gun violence having experienced that loss first hand. Burns attended the event with her mother and grandmother.
“I’m here to support my grandmother. She lost her two sons and today is one of her son’s birthday. My mom also lost her mom a couple of years back, so I’m here to support her too. It’s honestly emotional, because I don’t share that experience with them but they can share it with each other. It’s good to have people around that have those experiences you can share with.” Burns said.
Leone addressed the women in attendance with a toast, thanking them for their presence and encouraging them to continue building community and supporting one another.
“Thank you for your bravery, your spirit, your resilience and for joining us today. Let’s hold onto each other and remember the love that we carry is our greatest strength. Enjoy this brunch and may today be a step towards healing… surrounded by those who understand, by those who care and who support you. Happy Mother’s Day to you all and thank you Ebin New York. I love you. Everyone look at the person next to them and tell them, I love you.”
Leone plans to continue supporting women and encouraging women’s empowerment through various forms of community outreach with the I Love You Foundation.
“I’m definitely going to do more mentoring.” Leone said, “I want to work with a small group of young women who need some guidance. I want to do more events for women. I feel like when we’re strong, we can pour into the community, give strength and give love. I’m going to be doing monthly events for women so we can come together and build each other up and then go out into the world and take over.”
To find out more about the work that Ming Leone and the I Love You Foundation are doing in the community, follow @ming.leone and @i.love.you.foundation on IG and visit www.ilyfoundation.org.
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