Moms want you to get help, even if you can’t pay for it

If you’re a friend of Dawn Hosna, then more than likely she’s asked you to hold onto some stuff for her in the last couple of years.

With the opening last month of Moms on a Mission shop in Dupo, that’s much less likely to happen. The nonprofit group collects and distributes food, clothing and household items to anyone who needs them — the homeless, victims of fire or people who can use some assistance.

“We’re here to connect people who need help with those who can help,” said Dawn, 33, the mother of three children who are 2, 6 and 10.

She and three other Dupo-area women are the driving force behind the all-volunteer Moms on a Mission, which they have operated for a couple of years from their homes, garages and storage sheds with help from 4,000-plus members of the Facebook page of the same name.

“I completely quit my paying job to do this,” said Dawn, who wore a gray “Moms on a Mission” T-shirt and a green baseball cap over her long red braid. She had been a restaurant cook, which fueled her inner drive to help people by feeding them.

“My family has been a compassionate, community-driven family. Dad would literally give you the shirt off his back. Mom was involved with Girl Scouts and PTA.”

Dawn and her sister, Misty Barth, used to put on backpacks full of food, water and hygiene supplies, then drive to St. Louis to feed the homeless.

To grow their effort, Dawn published a Facebook post, offering to supply brown bags if friends would bring food.

“We made lunch sacks for the homeless, 564,” she said.

The mission evolved from there.

“At first, I just wanted to help people; now, these are my friends,” she said.

The distribution center at 440 McBride in Dupo, a former church, is open three times a week, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. Among the things they don’t distribute: drop-down cribs, expired car seats and console televisions.

It’s fueled by the Moms on a Mission Facebook page. Recently, Dawn posted a request to Facebook for hairstylists for an upcoming back-to-school event. She got three volunteered within 24 hours. Another half-dozen promised to check their schedules. Others offered to volunteer in other capacities, such as running a craft table.

As a result, students will be able to get free haircuts from 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 13. Supplies also will be available.

“There’s no proof of poverty (required),” Dawn said.

She calls it a “pay or pray” operation, although the faith-based group doesn’t force anyone to pray. Sometimes, visitors overpay. Not long ago, a shopper left a $200 donation for an inexpensive picture frame.

Dawn laughs when she talks about how incoming donations manage to meet the needs of so many.

“We like to say, ‘God provides, we deliver,’” she said.

Melissa Ford, the mother of two, recently shopped for T-shirts for her 12-year-old son. She has known Dawn for years and said it’s been a joy to watch her grow from a goofy kid into a generous woman.

Melissa and her family have hit some hard times. Her fiancé lost his job and her 3-year-old son was diagnosed with autism. She was still sporting the visitor sticker from Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital where her younger son had needed some tests.

“I picked up some work; it’s not enough. This helps,” she said, indicating a table piled with children’s clothing. “I could go to Walmart and spend $40, or I could come here.”

The Moms on a Mission building, the former Bethel Fellowship Church, was acquired with the help of one giant $30,000 donation. The 501(c)(3) organization still owes roughly $11,000 on it, said Kristine Beever, the group’s treasurer.

The core group of four women had been looking for a property to consolidate their efforts at the same time the church was looking for a new home.

It all just fell together, Dawn said.

The group talked to donors wanting to help, and confessed the need for the massive amount of money — the $30,000 would enable Bethel to move into its new home and the Mission to take over the church’s building. Dawn said the donors’ jaws dropped because $30,000 was the exact amount available to contribute.

Dawn, Misty Barth, Dawn Barbercheck, a former daycare teacher, and Kristine are the main volunteers at Moms on a Mission. Each uses her talent to further the group’s efforts while balancing family needs.

“Anybody can do this,” said Dawn Hosna. “I have three kids, some college. I was born and raised in Dupo — if the drive is there, anyone can do this.”

She said the group’s Facebook page is busy, with needs being met sometimes before she even knows about it.

“None of us here are well-to-do,” she said.

Most have children at home. Misty often brings in her five children, the youngest under a year old.

Dawn Barbercheck’s specialty is sorting donations. The shop has rooms upstairs for hygiene products and food; the downstairs area is arranged for easy shopping.

“If I stick with it (in the large room), I can clear it in four to five hours,” she said. Sometimes, her husband comes with her. She’s inside the room making her piles, which he distributes through the building.

Dawn Barbercheck said she once had the entire room clear, but it was full again with fresh donations two days later.

Getting it done takes a lot of family support. Dawn Hosna’s fiancé Shaun Putnam — they’ll marry on the grounds of Moms on a Mission on Nov. 19 — said she spends at least 40 hours a week with the Mission.

“The amount of time and energy she devotes to this is unbelievable,” said Shaun. “It’s a full-time job.”

Shaun does not begrudge her the time away from him and their three children, who pitch in when they can.

“I want to see her happy,” he said, “and this makes her so happy. It makes me happy to be able to help in whatever way I can.”

On Wednesdays, Dawn Hosna and other moms head to downtown St. Louis to help the homeless. They provide “Sister Sacks” and “Man Packs” in the metro-east as well, giving away essentials such as toothpaste and deodorant, and decks of cards if they have them.

Their efforts include helping the homeless get back in touch with their families, or finding social service agencies to help with specific needs.

“It’s just basic compassion,” she said.

This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Moms want you to get help, even if you can’t pay for it."