A few women in the service industry joined forces and started an effort to help out single parents working in their field by collecting donations and raising money to purchase groceries, cleaning products and clothing for moms and dads in need of temporary support.

"Our goal is to make sure all of the single parent families within the bar industry are taken care of and not left to struggle during these times," says organizer Jenneca Younger.

Local, single parents working as bartenders or servers are invited to join the Facebook group, "Milwaukee Service Industry Single Parents." And anyone who wants to make a donation to the group can do so through the GoFundMe page.

Younger, with the help of other organizers Angela Kimpel and Raquel Cannon, accept donations at The Mothership, 2301 S. Logan Ave., and also purchase items with the money they receive from the fundraiser. 

Hand soap, body wash, dish soap, sponges, toothpaste, diapers and shampoo are needed the most.

"It’s not easy for any of these parents to ask for help. Bartenders are usually in a position where they tuck away any personal issues and focus on the guests," says Younger. "However, the emotion and gratitude I’ve been privileged to see as these men and women pick up these bags of supplies is beyond amazing. These people who hate asking for help are seeing people looking out for them and a little positivity in the negative environment we’re stuck in right now."

Younger doesn't have children of her own, but empathizes greatly with friends and coworkers who do.

"These times are obviously incredibly scary, even for people like myself who are dealing with trying to cope and figure things out for one person. And single parents wake up every day with that same uncertainty and then have to put on a brave face and reassure their little ones everything is under control. It’s just so much pressure and we’d like to ease that stress," says Younger.