From One Mother’s Love to Many
When Seray was nominated for homecoming queen, her mother threw a party.
She invited more than 50 people and prepared dozens of dishes, all before anyone knew whether Seray would win. When Seray asked what would happen if she didn't win, wondering if all that preparation would be for nothing, her mother simply told her, “It doesn't matter whether you win or not. You're always a winner in my heart.” The outcome didn't matter. Her daughter had already given her reason to celebrate.
For Seray, that moment stayed with her. It gave her a lasting sense of confidence—the feeling that she didn't need validation from the outside world because she had the unwavering support of her family. It taught her to believe that she could accomplish anything she set her mind to.
She had arrived in the United States in middle school speaking barely any English, leaving behind her friends, her home, and everything familiar. She had to learn a new language, navigate a new culture, and find her place in a world that initially felt very different from her own.
Through it all, her parents were there to support her, giving her the confidence and encouragement to find her place in a new country.
At the time, Seray experienced that support simply as the love and belief of her family. Only later did she fully understand how much that support had shaped her. She began to appreciate how deeply her parents' support, and especially her mother's belief in her, had influenced the person she would become.
That understanding took on new meaning when Seray became a working mother herself. She began to understand just how challenging it can be to raise a child, even with two supportive parents. Becoming a mother gave her a deeper appreciation for everything her own parents had given her, and a new empathy for women navigating parenthood with fewer supports.
It also made her think about how profoundly a mother's support can shape a child's confidence and future—and how much her own mother's belief in her had shaped the person she became.
Those two realizations—how much support can shape a child's future, and how challenging parenthood can be even with support—led her to think about other single mothers whose circumstances may be very different. Women trying to rebuild careers while managing caregiving responsibilities, financial pressures, and the emotional weight of moving forward, often without the networks and resources that can make those challenges easier to navigate.
One question stayed with her:
What does it take for a woman to move forward when she has to do so largely on her own?
Seray wanted her philanthropy to help answer that question. She envisioned support that recognized the different barriers single mothers can face, from career re-entry and financial insecurity to caregiving responsibilities and emotional well-being.
Through conversations with TPF, that personal vision became the starting point for a broader grantmaking approach. Drawing on its knowledge of Türkiye's nonprofit landscape, TPF identified organizations with complementary expertise and created the EmpowerHER Single Mothers Fund to direct philanthropic resources toward a coordinated response.
This September, grants through the Fund will support five nonprofit partners as they bring their respective expertise to the first cohort of 35 women. Each organization contributes a different piece, from peer support and well-being to parenting, financial literacy, and career readiness.
For Seray, EmpowerHER is rooted in a truth that only deepened with time: behind every dream she chased was a mother’s love and support—given unconditionally, even while carrying quiet struggles of her own.
Today, her philanthropy is helping create opportunities for other single mothers to move forward on their own terms and build the confidence, stability, and support systems that can help shape a different future for themselves and their children.