Our Story

It all started in a pancake house in East Tampa.  As the future founder of Joining Together Eliminating Poverty (J.T.E.P), I spoke to my date for hours about my dreams to help other young mothers just like myself.  I was only a Sophomore in college, but with a two-year-old daughter at home, I knew that I needed to be successful for more than just me.

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Little did I know that so much would be birthed from that one night. My date became my loving and supportive husband, and now with the pregnancy and birth of our 3rd child, I was inspired to make my dream of helping others a reality.  Along with my mother-in-love, we have launched J.T.E.P. to help other young moms and the babies they welcome into the world.

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We recognize how important it is to have someone to support these moms; to show them and their child(ren) love and compassion, and more importantly, push them to be the best version of themselves.  We realize what it takes to break a cycle of poverty for these young women and their children, and we are dedicated to helping families make and obtain their goals.

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It wasn't far into our planning process that we realized we had to develop programs that addresses the needs of the whole family.  We realized that as we were just beginning, we would have to stay focused on a few programs, but to keep our minds and hearts open for how we would grow in the future.

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Our goal is not to simply give a hand-out to people in need; that would only "help" them for a moment.  Our goal is to empower our clients, help to give them hope and a future to be excited about and work towards.  We want to give tools, love, and inspiration to the families that really want it.