Vero Beach Moms - Part 1: Creating Space for Mothers to Connect

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Behind every thriving community lies a story of personal transformation. For Calah Milliman, founder of Vero Beach Moms non-profit, that journey began with a simple realization: "I can't be the only one who needs this."

What started eight years ago as a Facebook group seeking to create a judgment-free zone for mothers has evolved into a mission-driven nonprofit organization. Calah openly shares her personal story of becoming a mother at 19, surviving an abusive relationship, finding herself divorced at 23, and experiencing homelessness with her young daughter. These profound challenges, rather than defining her, became the foundation for her life's work: ensuring no mother in Vero Beach walks alone.

The conversation reveals the unexpected hurdles of launching a nonprofit and the importance of slowing down to build something sustainable rather than simply filling calendars with events. With 51.9% of Vero Beach's population being female and thousands of families moving to the area each year, Calah recognized an urgent need for authentic connections beyond social media's carefully curated facades. Programs like "Coffee and Testimonies" create spaces where women can share their real stories, both struggles and victories, in an environment of genuine support.

Whether you're a mother seeking community, someone feeling isolated in your entrepreneurial journey, or simply looking for inspiration, Calah's story reminds us that our darkest moments can become our greatest gifts to others. Share this episode with someone who needs to hear they're not alone, today.

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Helping local businesses in Vero Beach connect with their neighbors.

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Episode Transcript

Brian (00:00):
Welcome back to the Vero Beach podcast Today.
We're excited to have Calahwith us today from the Vero
Beach Moms nonprofitorganization.
So thanks for joining us today,and can you take about 30
seconds and tell us a little bitabout yourself?

Calah (00:13):
Sure, thank you so much for having me.
I really appreciate it.
So a little bit about myself.
I moved here in the year 2000from Stewart Florida and I
really really fell in love withVero Beach.
It really became home for me toraise my daughter.
So how did Vero Beach Moms cometo be?
I love this question.
So I ended up creating VeroBeach Moms eight years ago and I

(00:34):
just really felt like thereneeded to be a safer outlet for
moms.
I really found that going onsocial media and on Facebook can
get a little scary at times andI didn't feel safe on other
pages, you know, just talkingabout motherhood in general.
So it was kind of selfishly atthe time I created the page
going.
You know what I'm going to showthem?
I mean really honestly and Ihate to admit it, but it really

(00:55):
is the truth.
I created the page and as theyears went on I saw that there
was a really big need in thecommunity for more growth with
mothers and relationships andbuilding more of a community for
a safe haven for mothers.
So early last year Februaryactually of 2024, I had a
calling in my heart it's time tolead and it's time to make a
difference.
So I switched it over to anonprofit, knowing exactly what

(01:18):
I was not doing.
I had no idea what it entailedand a lot of people don't know
that, but I really went into itpretty quickly and then went oh
wait, yeah, I got to get mystuff together here, so we
turned it into a 501c3.
So we're tax exempt and the mainfocus of the nonprofit is for
every mom to find their place inthe community.
It just holds so much of heartand truth in what women are

(01:42):
looking for, and especially inmotherhood.
It can be the most amazingthing you will ever experience,
but it's one of the hardest jobs.
That's where Vero Beach Momsnonprofit came into play.

Brian (01:53):
So I'm sure Shauna's gonna have a lot of more
questions in regards to the momside.
I'm gonna have more questionsin regards to like stepping into
this because I'm not a mom.
I think, I know everything thatshe's going through, but I
always realize that I'm alwaysway off, so I'm not a member of
the Facebook group.

Calah (02:08):
You're not allowed.

Brian (02:10):
There's probably, there's probably rules there.
What were some of theunexpected challenges that maybe
you ran into launching, causeyou've never launched a
nonprofit before.

Shawna (02:18):
Was it scary.

Brian (02:19):
I mean I know it was exciting, but I'm sure I even
excitement.
There was some some things thatmaybe you're like I don't know
what I'm doing, what was thatlike?

Calah (02:26):
Oh yeah, that's a really good question.
I was so excited to start itand then I'm like, ok, now what
do I do?
Of course, we had the missionstatement, where there was a lot
of needs that I saw thatweren't being fulfilled in the
community.
But there are a lot that arebeing going to.
You know, give back to the kids, and we're going to rely on

(02:46):
sponsors and it's going to comepouring in.
It was like scheduling oneevent after another, and I'll be
honest with you.
And then you know, fall hit andI'm like what am I doing?
I need to slow down and I needto make sure that I'm producing
programs and resources for womenthat need it and not just
putting a bunch of stuff outthere.
That's kind of not plannedproperly and the way it's
supposed to.
And my business side kind oftook over and went no, we need

(03:09):
to create a successful businesswhere people can feel that they
have a safe place and they knowthese programs are well prepared
and planned out.
And so I had to slow down andgo okay, let's plan this
accordingly and bring in theright people.
I have Mary and Tracy, who areamazing board members.
They have been so amazing andso instructional and really

(03:29):
patient with me through thisprocess, because I really
thought I knew what I was doingand I didn't.
Nonprofit world is waydifferent.

Shawna (03:35):
I think that's great that you realized so quickly
that you needed to slow down.

Brian (03:40):
I was reading on your site and you had this phrase on
there that says I can't be theonly one who needs this.
What were some of the momentsfor you that made you come up
with that thought?

Calah (03:49):
Okay, so I promise I'm not going to cry on this podcast
.
If anybody knows me personally,they know Calah cries, oh hey.

Shawna (03:55):
Calah cries you and I are like soul sisters.
Honestly.
Oh thank you, and we probablyare going to cry, it's fine.

Brian (04:02):
We have no tissues here, we have cookies.

Calah (04:05):
Okay, we might need a cookie and a roll of toilet
paper, okay, so motherhood canbe a very lonely place, even
having the platform I did, and Ihad just hundreds of moms that
are on that page.
That connection was missing.
Those relationships weremissing for me, and I'm like I
can't be the only one that feelsthis way.
That's why part of our missionis we want to be a light in this
dark world and for me.

(04:26):
I turned this nonprofit into mymission field and I know that
God called me to do this.
Thousands of families move hereevery year the women in our
community.
We have about 51.9% of womenthat are in our community, 14.7%
of women that are 18 years oldor younger, so we are the higher
percentage of our population inVero Beach.

(04:47):
To be able to form connectivityand relationship is number one
for me.
Blessings that come from thatgreat, if not, as long as I'm
being a blessing to other peopleand I can help one person.
That's what it's about.

Shawna (05:00):
That's so beautiful because that's something that
we've learned too through yearsof ministry that sometimes you
have a vision for something.
It's not exactly growing theway you thought it would, but if
you can just be a blessing toone person, that's all that
we're asked to do.
Whoever comes our way, be ablessing to them.
So, that's so beautiful for youto say that For me.
My story with motherhood was ata certain point.

(05:24):
When Ashton was in second grade, we moved to Florida from Ohio.
Through a lot of differentevents, I ended up homeschooling
.
At first I didn't like it, hedidn't like it, it was not good,
we weren't going to continue.
But then that summer Godchanged my heart about it and I
came upon.
I don't know if you've everheard of Charlotte Mason, but
she was a teacher in England.
It was a philosophy that reallymoved me and it was how we kind
of ended up walking out hiseducation.

(05:45):
So when he graduated, all of asudden I felt like who am I?
What is my purpose?
What is my identity?
Everything just kind of was inthe air and I was just lost.
I know what it feels like whenyou don't know what your purpose
is and you think do I have apurpose?
Do I have one at all?
And that's such a scary placeto be.
It is.

Brian (06:02):
For anybody that's listening, that's not a mom.
There's still things we cantake away from this conversation
, even as men, because when yousaid I can't be the only one who
needs this, I know for me as anentrepreneur, entrepreneurship,
even though it's highlighted onsocial media, can be a very
lonely place.
You're judging yourself all thetime.
When I read that on yourwebsite, I thought I can relate
to that.
I'm not a mother.
I can't be the only one thatfeels like this, and with more

(06:23):
conversations I've had withother business people, even
through the podcast, I'velearned like there's people
that's been in business for over20 years that I've sat down
with, and I'm like you, thinkthat too.
So we're not alone in so manydifferent ways, and I think that
one of the things that you saidright there was, if you get to
help one person, that's whatit's all about, and I know
that's something that Sean and Ihave talked to people before.
They've looked at some of thethings that we're doing and

(06:45):
they're like you guys are sosuccessful and I'm like well,
can you define what you mean bysuccess, like even like with a
podcast?
Success for us is being able totalk to someone, to get to know
their story, so to have thatmindset as running the nonprofit
, that's a huge, huge thing foryou.
It's going to help.
You continue to keep doing it,even when things get tough or
when things are going great.
But you need those moments whenthings are tough, like, why am

(07:06):
I doing this?
Because you got to help thatone person.
So, Calah, I'm good at goingthrough people's websites when
people reach out.
So it says, motherhood can feellike both a full heart and a
full plate.
So can you talk a little bitabout what that looked like for
you?

Calah (07:19):
So I'll tell you a little backstory, and I wasn't sure if
I was going to share this, butI feel I feel led to share it.
So I got pregnant with mydaughter when I was 19 and, um,
I had just moved up here fromStewart.
You know that that relationshipwas very abusive with the
father, but I don't want to gointo too much details.
I don't want to bedisrespectful to him, but it was

(07:39):
.
And I found myself divorced at23 years old, single mom
struggling.
My plate was full.
I sorry it's hard to talk about.

Brian (07:50):
Please take your time.

Calah (07:52):
Yeah, divorced.
At 23 years old, I went toschool full time to get a career
.
I was doing dental assistingand management at the time.
It was hard.
God really protected me throughthat time.
We found ourselves homeless fora period of time.
But I'll tell you what.
Through all of that, god wasfaithful.

(08:14):
I know now that he allowed meto go through those things so I
could help other women.
So what you see on social mediaisn't always true.
I know now that God wascreating me for a purpose.
It's not because of me, Calah,it's because of Jesus.
To answer that question aboutyour plate being full, it's okay
, because motherhood is amission field.

(08:36):
God has given us our childrenso we can raise them and to love
them and to guide them the waythat he's called us to do.
And I know that so many womenare struggling, whether it's
being in abusive relationshipsor it's financial problems,
whatever it may be.
We can't take away from thatright, but what we can do is
build a community that willsupport each other, and that's
exactly what we're doing.

Brian (09:01):
So I know now.
That's why I went through it,because I understand all of it.
Yeah, thank you so much forsharing that.
I think that it's so importanteven today.
I think, after COVID, communityhas been something that took
even a further step back, andthere's so much power in
community.
So sorry to hear that you wentthrough all that, but it's also
a beautiful thing to see, likeeven something that's bad, that
God can turn it and use it forgood For the women that feel

(09:21):
like I am alone.
I hope that as they listen,that they hear that you're not
alone.
There's a community herethrough the Vero Beach Moms that
they can connect All right.
So, Calah, I have one morequestion to ask you before we
get into part two, where we'regoing to talk about the behind
the scenes.
You, before we get into parttwo, where we're going to talk
about the behind the scenes, Iget to know more about the
events and the services that youdo.
Again, back to your website.
It has a phrase no mom shouldwalk this path alone.

(09:44):
So I want to ask you how hasthat phrase I know you're still
pretty new, but has that phraseno mom should walk this path
alone evolved in what it meansto you today.

Calah (09:55):
Yeah, I mean just going through what I have been through
and my personal testimony andsharing that it's imperative for
moms not to walk alone and ifthey can see that there's a
local organization like VeroBeach Moms Nonprofit that is
there for them, I mean we'll gointo that.
You know, obviously in the nextphase of what we're going to
talk about with the programs.

(10:16):
But, for example, just one ofthem, I'll just comment on
coffee and testimonies.
It's been something that's beenvery near and dear to my heart.
I actually started that beforethe nonprofit.
It's not really a Bible study,but it's coffee and testimonies.
So we're talking about ourlives.
We're talking about not walkingthese paths alone and how we
can support each other andwhether we share scripture or

(10:37):
testimony, story, trials,tribulations or you know, we're
celebrating victories.
That's one of the programswe're really trying to push this
year, because it's imperativethat all women know that they're
not alone.

Brian (10:49):
Well, I'm excited to get into part two.
If you guys are enjoying thisepisode, make sure you click
that subscribe.
Leave us a review.
I was just reading the otherday.
It says give them one call ofaction, so just choose one of
those.
That's fine with me, but Iguess, most importantly, if
you're enjoying this episode andyou know a mom, share this with
them.
That's the most important thing.
Share this episode, because Ithink you're going to find

(11:10):
encouragement through this story, through your story.

Shawna (11:11):
Catch you next time, neighbor.