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Mary Owens, Cara’s Founding Mom, shares how to raise compassionate children.

“The most important thing to remember is that children learn from the examples they see from us as parents and grandparents.

“We have five grown children and 22 grandkids, and they’ve all seen how involved we’ve been in Cara for the last 28 years. It’s ‘we.’ It’s Tom and me. Our children see us give our time and financial support to programs we believe in. They know what we are doing with Cara, and they’ve all learned by example.

“When raising my kids, I instilled in them the importance of being sensitive to people who didn’t have the same advantages they had. I encouraged them to sign up for every service opportunity they could through school, whether it was a food drive or visiting a nursing home.

“Each of our grandchildren have been involved in some sort with Cara. They’ve learned so much about how fortunate they are. And they have all given back to some extent.

“Giving back is a family activity. The grandkids are very proud of their parents who are involved as well. All of our kids have served on the Board at least once. We instilled service into them. This is what we want to be known for as a family.”

Nearly 100 strong moms are currently transforming their life and their family at Cara (and hundreds more are among our alumni). Click here to read more stories of our hard-working moms!

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