HUNTSVILLE — Many visitors to Stovehouse know the Parisian-inspired Noëlla’s Flowers — from the iconic flower truck to the storefront in Gaslight Alley.
At the root of the beautiful blooms is the nonprofit Make It Matter: The Collective.
Owner Erica Hardesty originally worked at a foster agency for three years after graduating from Auburn University. Her time as a foster care recruiter gave her the first-hand experience with the foster care system — the children it serves and the people who give their time to it.
The more she worked, the more Hardesty found her passion for the teenagers within the foster care system.
“These kids are trying to navigate their future and who they are on top of navigating these hardships that they have experienced,” she said.
This passion led to Hardesty and her husband founding the nonprofit Make it Matter: The Collective. The goal of the organization has remained the same: Support youth beginning to transition out of foster care and into independent living.
In the state of Alabama, the age of emancipation out of the foster system is 19, with a recent change allowing for the choice to stay in foster care until the age of 21.
However, many foster teenagers choose to forgo this option. The result is a majority foster kids that transfer out of the foster care system are left unsure of their next steps into adulthood.
The organization seeks to meet the needs of these young adults by investing in them from an early age and into adulthood. This is where the idea for Noëlla’s Flowers bloomed.
“We were trying to raise funds for the nonprofit,” Hardesty said. “I love flowers so that is how the flower truck came to be.”
The flower truck was a quick success, soon leading to the opening of the Noëlla’s Flowers storefront. It was the creation of Noëlla’s Flowers that allowed Hardesty to leave her full time job as a social worker and fully pursue her passion.
“I was able to pursue that endeavor [of Noëlla’s Flowers] that I was never expecting and being able to be full time with the nonprofit,” Hardesty said.
Make it Matter: The Collective remains the heart and purpose of Hardesty and Noëlla’s Flowers. Hardesty is constantly working on Make it Matter alongside Noëlla’s Flowers, from which a portion of daily process goes directly into the nonprofit. Fete en Blanc, the annual event hosted by Noëlla’s Flowers, raises funds that goes directly into Make it Matter: The Collective.
The nonprofit decided that the best way to reach the group of foster teenagers was to create a mentorship program, The 614 Initiative. The program walks them through the entirety of a child’s time in foster care — from the age of 13 through aging out and even beyond.
Hardesty shares an inside look at the future of the nonprofit, saying, “We are in the process of working with a local school system to launch a pilot program of the mentor program within the schools.”
This program focuses on connecting one-on-one with foster kids within this school district. Make it Matter: The Collective will get to know the kids, their goals and interests, and then they will be paired with a mentor who is best fit for them. That mentor will help the kids with critical life tasks and skills based on their ages, help facilitate community connections and remain a steadfast presence in their lives.
“We are just helping them connect to resources already there to make the transition out of foster care a not-so-scary experience,” Hardesty said.
Make It Matter: The Collective is working to raise $7.5 million to build an apartment complex for those aging out of the foster care system. Once they age out of the system, the teenagers have the option to apply to the apartment complex where the mentorship will continue for 2 more years.
“We can help them get their footing and foundation in the real world. Help them not worry about a place to live in that transition,” Hardesty said.
The nonprofit is actively seeking community connections to aid in this mission. Those who are interested can help the effort by spreading the word to expand awareness, volunteering for The 614 Initiative program, offering a position in a local company, or filling any other mentorship roles.
“Make it Matter wants to do more than put a Band-Aid on it, we want to stop the generational cycle of childhood welfare involvement in each family represented,” Hardesty said. “Help these kids grow and heal so they have a different story to present to their family one day.”
For more information, visit www.makeitmattercollective.com.
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