Mint to Be of the Carolinas launches campaign for Cabarrus County's first postpartum support center
The nonprofit kicked off the fundraising effort during its Summer Soiree, with plans to raise $207,000 for A Mother's Haven, a one-stop resource center for mothers.
Amid the soft sounds of jazz and conversations among friends Saturday evening, supporters gathered at The Manor at Serenade Farm in Concord with a shared purpose: helping ensure no mother has to navigate postpartum depression, financial hardship or early motherhood alone.
For Sharee Allen, that mission is deeply personal.
After experiencing postpartum depression following the birth of her first child in 2013, Allen understood firsthand how isolating motherhood could become without support. That experience inspired her to launch Mint to Be of the Carolinas in January 2021, creating a lifeline for mothers across the region.
The nonprofit supports mothers — particularly those earning less than $25,000 annually — through counseling, financial literacy classes and essential resources such as diapers, toiletries and formula. It also helps cover postpartum therapy with trauma-focused therapist Nicole Prah-Ennin while providing emergency supplies for families facing unexpected crises.
In just over five years, Mint to Be has served more than 3,000 families, distributed more than 250,000 diapers, hosted 16 community baby showers and organized numerous outreach events designed to support mothers through every stage of their journey.
“When you save a mother, you strengthen a family, when you strengthen a family, you strengthen a community and when a community chooses to care for its mothers, generations are are changed forever,” Allen said during the Summer Soiree Fundraiser.
Now, Allen hopes to build on that impact with the organization’s most ambitious initiative yet.
Money raised during Saturday’s fundraiser, which included a silent auction, will support the creation of A Mother’s Haven, a planned headquarters that Allen envisions as a one-stop resource center for mothers. The facility would offer postpartum counseling, financial literacy classes, monthly mom support groups, emergency resources, lactation and doula services, and a dedicated nap room where mothers can rest while receiving support.
“This will be more than a house; it will be a place of hope, a place where mothers can rest and recover,” Allen said.
The center is intended to bridge the gap for women who have been discharged from the hospital but are not yet ready to navigate the challenges of early motherhood on their own.
“The postpartum period, often called the fourth trimester, is one of the most vulnerable times in a woman’s life,” Allen said.
According to the American Psychological Association, about 1 in 7 women — roughly 14% — experience postpartum depression after childbirth, and many cases go undiagnosed or untreated.
Allen said the nonprofit hopes to raise $207,000 to purchase a home near downtown Concord that would serve as the headquarters for A Mother's Haven. Thanks to the generosity of early donors — including Blue Cross Blue Shield, which sponsored the nap room and equipment, and Carolina Complete Health — Mint to Be has already raised at least $17,000 toward its initial fundraising goal of $40,000, with donations still coming in.
Allen hopes to purchase the home and begin serving mothers there as early as October.
She estimates A Mother’s Haven could support 200 to 300 mothers at a time, noting that the organization’s monthly support groups already average about 30 participants and continue to grow.
“It’s a place where they can come and be safe,” she said. “They can just be.”
Once it opens, A Mother’s Haven will become the first postpartum home for young mothers in Cabarrus County, Allen said.
“This dream will not be built by one person or one organization,” Allen said. “It will be built by a community that believes that every mother deserves care, compassion and a safe place to heal.”
The fundraiser also highlighted the organization’s impact through the stories of two mothers whose lives were changed by Mint to Be.
Samantha Hale first attended one of the nonprofit’s community baby showers in 2025. New to the area and unsure what to expect, she almost didn’t go.
“I didn’t want to go but I went, and everybody was just so loving and so welcoming,” Hale said.
Hale, whose child will turn 1 next month, also attended the organization’s annual Momsgiving gathering in November, where mothers are encouraged to pause, unwind and connect with others during the holiday season.
“It was absolutely amazing…They just loved on me and they saw me,” Hale said. “It was a movement that I didn’t know I needed here.”
For Shirley Genao, Mint to Be became the village she thought she had left behind.
An elementary school teacher, Genao moved from New York City to Concord during the pandemic with her two oldest children, leaving behind her extended family and longtime support system. Her husband and two other children later joined her, and after becoming pregnant again, Genao found herself navigating motherhood in an unfamiliar place.
Raised to be independent and not ask for help, Genao eventually connected with Allen while volunteering as a translator at one of Mint to Be’s events.
She recalled that from the moment they met, it felt as though they had known each other for 30 years. Through Allen’s support, Genao said she learned one of the most important lessons of her journey.
“Sometimes your village does not look like you and you have to accept that help,” Genao said.
Now entering the second year of her second master’s degree, Genao credits Allen with providing the support system she didn’t realize she needed.
“Accept the help,” she said. “Accept that you do have a village and you do have a community here.”
Despite everything that Allen has accomplished with her nonprofit, she is excited about what is still to come.
“I truly believe that the best chapters of Mint to Be of the Carolinas are still ahead of us,” Allen said.
For more information or to donate to the nonprofit, visit minttobecarolinas.com.