Welcome

TEAM MEMBERS ARE WOMEN WHO ARE EXCITED AND HONORED TO BE INVOLVED IN ALL ASPECTS OF SMILE 

Ashley Danielson founded this nonprofit organization in 2019 to provide community to single moms in the Spokane area. Ashley holds a B.A. degree in Communications from Seattle Pacific University. She is a single mom to a six year old boy. Being a mom has renewed the passion she’s always had for helping people. Ashley wants to help single moms by encouraging them that they are not alone. She wants to empower moms to become the best version of themselves by providing resources and community through SMILE. Ashley is a homeschool mom and also partners with women around the world to help them keep their babies as a Compassionate Entrepreneur with Trades of Hope. She also blogs about the transition to motherhood at themotherhoodjourney.com.  

Photo credit: Amanda Acorn Photography

Patty has been married to her husband Joe for 25 years and she is the mother to three adult children, including our founder Ashley. For the past 16 years, Patty has been a caregiver for people with special needs and the elderly as she is passionate about helping  those in need. In her downtime she enjoys crafting and reading.  Patty generously donates her time to coordinating childcare services to ensure the single moms can relax knowing their children are being cared for during SMILE's events.

Photo credit: Amanda Acorn Photography 

Melaia is the blessed mother to her son Koloa. She serves on the media team for her local church as an online host. Melaia is coleading a Freedom in Christ  small group with her church as well as writing her own Bible study. She works as a representative for health insurance. Her passion for SMILE is knowing the value in "it takes a village to raise a child"  and to share the "Ohana" heart she was raised with. 

Tamara is a single mom to an 18 year old daughter who is attending Bible school in Minnesota and a 5 year old son that she is homeschooling. She is also a licensed foster parent. Tamara holds a M.A. degree in Special Education with an emphasis in Deaf education from the University of Northern Colorado and is fluent in Sign Language. The Lord has blessed her with the gift of mercy and she often finds herself in a position of offering support and encouragement  to other women who are struggling in their walk with Jesus or just going through trials in general. She is especially blessed to be a part of SMILE and to be able to support and lift up other single moms and to help point them back to Jesus. 

Marci has been a single mom for 34 years and has single-parented 8 kids during her lifetime that currently range from ages 11 through 42.  Over the last 10 years, she has been raising 3 of her 4 grandchildren and she joyfully became their adopted mom in Feb 2020.   Life for Marci as a single mom has not been easy.  She has had many challenges, including the death of a child, an adult child who chooses to live in addiction and at times very limited support systems, and all the other normal challenges that single moms face.  However, through all the difficulties, Marci has developed a passion to change the world's view of single moms to not only recognize the difficulties that single moms face but also how important the job they do in raising children alone is.  She feels very blessed to be involved in SMILE, an organization that’s sole purpose is to minister to single moms in the Spokane area.  Marci works as an Independent Health and Medicare Insurance Agent and loves to play Cribbage.