Former single mom builds business to help other mothers in need


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PLEASANT GROVE — Raising children on their own, supporting them financially, and often times working multiple jobs just to make ends meet; these are just some of the responsibilities single mothers have.

Utah County resident Jazmine Edwards knows that firsthand, which is why she started a program to help mothers in need.

“I kept running into these mothers that needed help and I said, 'That's who we need to focus on,'” Edwards said. “We really want to help them thrive and make a difference and be self-sufficient.”

She is taking what she's learned from being a single parent to six children to set other mothers up for a better future.

In 2014, she founded UGLY Utah Girls Love You in her garage. It's a program that gives back to single mothers with the proceeds collected by selling donated items.

Edwards now has her own storefront called UGLY's Closet, 10 W. Center Street in Pleasant Grove, where she sells fairly priced donated items. Her hope is that it gives mothers an opportunity to shop for her family without breaking the bank.

"My goal is to give our women a safe place (to shop) and not feel like it's a handout,” Edwards said.

But her mission goes far beyond selling donated items. Every last Thursday of the month, Edwards hosts a financial class. Experts meet in a room behind the shop to teach mothers and their children how to balance family finances.

“We are hoping that if we can get the kids involved and get this taught inside the home, they will learn how to spend their money a little wiser and understand that saving is truly important,” Edwards said.

Learning to save was a lesson she was forced to learn when the mother of six became a single parent. "I know what it's like to dig yourself out and how important education was,” Edwards said.

She hopes women who take advantage of her program will learn the skills they need to have a successful future.

“My hope is that they can find change within themselves,” Edwards said, “to be self-sufficient and great mothers and not need a partner, [but] want a partner."

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