Two former Dow Jones executives have launched a social venture designed to address issues facing single mothers who are poverty-stricken in the United States. Founders Tom Aley and Darr Aley have formed Moms and Jobs – a for-profit company that provides sustainable employment opportunities, complete coverage of childcare, and career development for single mothers in the apparel manufacturing sector. MoJo takes 50% of its profit from sales of the products to help finance these and other benefits. Most of the other half is used to hire new employees.
The economics of a single-parent family mean that single mothers are disproportionately represented among the poor. Among U.S. households headed by single mothers, 33% live below the poverty line, compared to 12% of male-headed families. Women with dependent children comprise two-thirds of the poor population. A major part of the problem is that daycare costs for even one child can consume the majority of a woman's salary, making it feel difficult to justify returning to the workforce from a personal and financial standpoint.
"Our goal is to build a company to help stamp out homelessness and eradicate poverty," said Tom Aley, Founder and Co-Chairman of Moms and Jobs. "We'll do this by providing sustainable employment and opportunities to those most impacted by these problems – underprivileged women."
To date MoJo has employed 15 under-privileged mothers at their new 8,000 square foot facility in Lowell, MA. The company has plans to increase employees to 300-500 by the end of 2011 and will open a new facility in Northern California. MoJo is also integrating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, where every one of the employees will be owners.
Moms and Jobs, Inc. (MoJo) is a for-profit company that creates sustainable employment opportunities in the apparel manufacturing sector for the underserved demographic of single mothers. MoJo manufactures logo-wear for socially conscious corporations and universities and utilizes the proceeds from the purchase of MoJo products to provide better than minimum wage salaries, a chance at a new career path, and more importantly, freedom from the prohibitive daycare costs that keep so many mothers from re-entering the work force and being able to support themselves and the families that need them.