Our program does more than just teach low-income women, all who had their children as teenagers, how to row. It also gives our young mothers a variety of physical and mental health benefits:

• Young mothers, who often face high rates of depression and isolation, form friendships with other young moms from similar backgrounds.

• Crew members engage in healthy physical exercise.

• Rowing practice gives moms a break from their family obligations to have "alone" time.

• Crew time teaches teamwork and builds moms' self-esteem and confidence.

Winter

• The Proud Mamas host voluntary, open training sessions at Simmons College's indoor crew tanks.
• Mothers in the Young Parents Program are invited to try out rowing at the sessions.
• Mothers decide if they want to make the commitment and join the crew team.

• Mothers commit to twice-weekly rowing practice on the Charles River.
• Practice takes an entire afternoon - 30 minutes on the Charles; the remaining time is spent picking up and dropping off every team member throughout the Boston area.
• In August, the Proud Mamas participate in the Annual Young Parents Regatta in western Mass.

Our program is modeled after the Rowing Strong, Rowing Together (RSRT) program. RSRT is based at The Care Center in Holyoke, Mass, an alternative education center for teenage mothers.

In 2004, RSRT was brought to Children's by social worker Jennifer Valenzuela, MSW, MPH, and Matt Buman, MS, both from the YPP, who named the team the Proud Mamas. The Care Center gave Valenzuela $2,000 in seed money to start the rowing team and Children's Hospital Boston provided grants to also fund the program.

Thanks to RSRT, Children's and The Beacon Hill Circle for Charity, the Proud Mamas Program can pay for crew members' transportation to and from practice and provide them with a small stipend to cover child care while they are at practice. This generous financial support also pays for a chartered bus to take the young women, their family, friends and children to the Annual Young Parents Regatta in western Mass.

Our teams

Our team is led by Coach Liza Hirsch, Care Coordinator at Children's, who rowed while attending the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

2004 Team
In our program's first year, there were seven young women on the team. With only three weeks of preparation, the team lost by only seconds in their first race at the Annual Young Parents Regatta.

2005 Team
In 2005, the number of our crew members doubled. Our young parents' ages ranged from 16 years old to 23 years old and most came from the Boston neighborhoods of Roxbury, Mattapan and Dorchester. Our crew members won the 2005 Young Parents Regatta.

2006 Team
Our team in 2006 was made up of nine women, ages 16 to 21, who came from Hyde Park, Dorchester, Roslindale, Somerville, Roxbury and Boston. Despite not bringing home the gold at the regatta, the team received substantial press coverage from publications like the Boston Herald, The Boston - Bay State Banner, the Dorchester Reporter and the Jamaica Plain/Hyde Park Bulletin.